KEY WEST - They have long wings, can
live in trees, and have an insatiable appetite.
Once found primarily in places such as the West Indies and
Brazil, the Asian subterranean termite is on the move in South
Florida -- gnawing its way through Key West, Miami, and to the alarm
of bug trackers, points as far north as Riviera Beach.
In Key West, where aging wooden homes have pushed past $1
million, the spread of Coptotermes gestroi through the city's
New Town neighborhood has alarmed residents and real estate agents
while providing new prey for enterprising exterminators.
''I've been doing real estate for 20 years and I've never run
across these,'' said Lynn Kaufelt, a Key West real estate agent
whose client had a rude awakening a few weeks ago when he realized
that the pricey home he'd just purchased already had several
thousand boarders.
The epiphany, Kaufelt said, came when ``they started
swarming.''
Now Kaufelt is trying to raise awareness among local real estate
agents to try to contain the bug and thwart a march through Key
West's Old Town section -- which is already besieged by the Asian
subterranean's more docile, dry-wood cousin.
In recent months, the fast-moving insect has been tracked to a
neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale and at least four buildings within a
half-mile area of Riviera Beach.
These worrisome developments prompted University of Florida
entomologists to issue a ''pest alert'' last week, warning residents
and those who are in the bug-be-gone business that the Asian
subterranean -- a native of places like Thailand and Malaysia that
favors tropical climates -- has migrated farther than some
scientists surmised.
DISTURBING TREND
''Riviera Beach is really north, and if you look at the worldwide
distribution of this species that's really an exception,'' said
Nan-Yao Su, a professor of entomology at UF. ``All bets are off
because our theories were totally wrong here. It's disturbing.''
Su and other scientists say the Asian subterranean is as
destructive as the similar Formosan termite -- another exotic
species that found its way to South Florida by the mid 1980s and has
since infested 14 other Florida counties as far north as Duval. The
Asian subterranean produces large colonies that need to eat more,
faster.
Millions of the hardy bugs can also nest in a tree, in the
ground, or inside one house.
''You have to be on top of it. If you just let it go for a year,
your structure could incur substantial damage,'' said UF
entomologist Rudolf Scheffrahn. ''With dry-wood termites, for
example, it could be five or ten years'' before they do major
damage.
Termites eat wood because it contains cellulose that can be
broken down into simple sugars for energy by small microorganisms
that inhabit their guts.
Though the Asian subterraneans have been sporadically spotted in
Key West since about 1999, according to Scheffrahn, they seem to be
proliferating. ''Ultimately it's going to cover most of the island,
I would expect,'' Scheffrahn said.
The termites are believed to have entered Florida by boat, which
they have also been known to dine upon, and most of their initial
infestation sites, including a former pawn shop in Miami, are near
yachting basins or commercial seaports.
Today, they are found in a few spots in Hialeah, Liberty City and
downtown Miami.
Former Broward exterminator Mark Weinberg brought his mainland
expertise in stalking the similar Formosans to Key West, where he's
already tackled six Asian subterranean cases this year.
''People are used to having the dry-wood termites, which they
know they can procrastinate doing something about, but with these,
you can't have that kind of attitude,'' warned Weinberg, owner of
Hammerhead Termite Control in Big Pine. ``They can do a lot in a
short amount of time. I have seen it already.''
BUGGING RESIDENTS
The bugs have also been spotted recently in Fort Lauderdale,
where resident Alan Tookey's children stumbled upon termite ''mud
tunnels'' along a backyard laurel oak tree a few months ago.
Exterminators were called to the River Oaks neighborhood, and a few
of the unwanted visitors were forwarded by a neighbor to UF.
Not long after, excited scientists showed up -- drilling holes in
the tree, videotaping the critters using a fiber-optic scope, and
placing a light trap in a high branch.
Exterminators also installed a special termite control system
developed by Su that's called Sentricon. It works by inserting
poison baits into the ground that interfere with the bugs' ability
to shed their skin.
At about $2,500 for installation -- and $350 for annual
maintenance -- Tookey hopes it will spell the end of his termite
troubles.
''I just wish everybody luck for this upcoming termite season,''
he said.
