UH research lures student aides
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
Ten students from Moanalua Middle School turned into research associates this week as they signed on to monitor and collect data from 150 subterranean termite stations around the buildings of their school.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Early on, research still took a back seat to revulsion.
Moanalua Middle School student Brad Kitashiro examines a Sentricon bait station, which has attracted termites. It's part of a summer study.
"Eeeoooo," said eighth-grader Megan Tomino, "are we going to have to touch them?"
It's the first time young middle-school students have worked with University of Hawai'i researchers, according to Julian Yates, extension specialist in urban entomology in the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences at UH, but dubbed "Dr. J." by the kids.
"I think we'll learn how to control termites and eliminate them, and how they react to different types of wood," said Brad Kitashiro, 12.
Termite damage cost $637,000 this year to treat trouble spots in 144 public schools, according to the Department of Accounting and General Services, which handles the repair contracts.
A year ago it cost $522,000 to fix termite damage in 112 schools, but that included drywood termites as well as ground termites.
The new $80,000 federally funded two-year pilot project has several goals: to provide hands-on training for school students in how to work as scientists; offer protection from subterranean termites for the school; advance scientific information about the range and inter-relationship of termite colonies; and further test the Sentricon system that was developed by the University of Florida in conjunction with other universities, including UH.
"We're going to teach them everything we know about termites and also get them involved in the management of termites on their campus, which they'll be monitoring monthly," said Yates.
The school has had damage from subterranean termites before, said Yates, and that indicates they could still be around. In the days before the new sophisticated baiting was available, termites were essentially "shooed away," he said, and the colony wasn't attacked. Now it is.
But a few more schools are needed, especially those with high levels of damage from ground termites, not drywood termites, said project coordinator Maria Aihara-Sasaki.
"We're hoping to find some schools in desperate need," she said. "We're hoping teachers know of damage we aren't aware of."
Those who do are asked to call her office at 956-2456 so researchers can evaluate them. If they fit the project criteria, treatment will be paid for through the grant.
The researchers had trouble finding a willing school, she said. Several said that, before Moanalua, none jumped at the opportunity.
"The school has been known to have an exceptional science program and we have developed a curriculum and submitted it to the science teachers," said Yates. "We'll also take them to UH and show them our research labs, how chemicals work and our DNA analysis techniques."
With DNA analysis of termites, said Yates, it's possible to discover how far colonies extend, the different types, whether they interact or are related. A single 5-year-old colony can have 3 million to 5 million termites, with queens laying 2,000 eggs a day.
With two types of subterranean termites now in Hawai'i, homeowners need to be watchful, said Ron Tolentino, a volunteer from Tropical Termite and Pest Control, one of six companies that volunteered to install the traps at Moanalua.
"Be aware. Look at your slab. Are there mud tubes going up from the ground?"
If they come off easily, they're likely to be ants, he said. If not, you could be seeing ground termites invading your home.
"Walk around your house. Inspect the walls. Look under the sinks for warpage. They look for moisture. The heater area, the bathroom and the kitchen are the main places they come in."
The Sentricon bait traps installed at the school were donated by Dow AgroSciences.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
