Understanding the Impact of Termites on the Nigerian Forestry and Tree Industry: Effective Preventive Measures Explored

Termites are yellowish-white, soft-bodied inserts which live in large numbers in old logs, stumps of trees, the timber of wooden buildings and also in the soil. They are often called "white ants" but are not ants and differ from the other pests. The most common termites in Nigeria belong to the genus Macrotermes. Another common genus is Reticulitermes. 

Like ants and other inserts such as honey bees, termites are social insects, always living together in large colonies made up of several sorts, or castes, of each. Hence, each colony displays a "division of labour" which is a characteristic feature of all social insects.

Termites feed primarily on wood, which affect the tree business in Nigeria. This sometimes discourage people from venturing into forestry and tree business. Trees are immense importance for the Nigeria economy in the extraction of timber for furniture, building and so on. However, termites attacks trees, wood etc, they can be hard to control. They conveniently build their nests in fallen logs, old stumps of trees, wooden buildings or pieces of wooden debris on the ground. Some termites even live on the heartwood of large trees. However, the majority of the termite species nake nests in the soil and feed on the living and dead roots of plants.

In large forest, termite build anthills that can contain a vast number of termites, depending on it size. Some tropical species of termites are independent of changes in climatic conditions outside the nest. In forestry, termites are very destructive insects as they feed on both dead wood and living plants. This make business different for those who sell firewoods, logs, pinewoods, build materials and so on. They can eat through the timber of wooden houses and can even attack hardwoods. They also eat furniture, books, boxes and other products of wooden origin. Sometimes they feed on living plant material and can cause great damage to agricultural crops. They attack many of the crop plants grown in the tropics such as rubber trees, oil palms, tea and fruit trees. Sometimes termites attack only the inner wood (heartwood) of trees, leaving the outside portion apparently unharmed. Such trees are hazardous because being hollow, they can easily collapse when they are blown by the wind.

Termites can be controlled in the following ways:

The wooden parts of houses should be checked for termites once every few months. They should be treated regularly with chemicals which repel termites and prevent them from making nest. Covering the exterior wooden parts, especially holes and cracks, with heavy coats of paint also helps to check termites. Furthermore, wood to be used for buildings should be impregnated with termite repellents such as coal-tar or creosote. This will make the wood termite-proof. Soil can also be treated in large forest with chemicals to prevent termites from making their nests. Soil treatment includes pouring oil solutions or water emulsions of organic insecticides into soil.

Insecticides such as dieldrin can also be used for killing termites. However, this is not always successful as it is difficult to kill the king and queen with chemicals.