User:Johnmuncaster/Termite barriers

Sustainable Termite Barriers new article content ...

THE FIRST SUSTAINABLE TERMITE BARRIER - MINERAL PARTICLES Sustainable termite barriers, which are non-chemical physical barriers to exclude termites from structures, started with Walter Eberling, of the University of California - Berkeley. In 1957 Dr. Eberling published in the Journal of Economic Entomologyhis findings that termites could not penetrate barriers of mineral particles if the particles were exactly sized (too large for termites to move with their mandibles, and too small for termites to squeeze between). REF

Work with particle barriers was expanded in the 1980s by Tamashiro and others at the University of Hawaii , and later by CSIRO of Australia <a href "https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/pub?list=BRO&pid=procite:ebb114e4-b021-4e59-9530-67280eeea696&sb=RECENT&n=3&rpp=25&page=1&tr=7&dr=all&dc4.creator=ahmed,%20b.m.." The practical result of this was that precisely sized mineral granules have been widely used since the early 1990s as termite barriers in both Hawaii and Australia.

WIRE MESH TERMITE SCREEN BARRIERS A second type of sustainable termite barrier, consisting of marine grade stainless steel mesh with opening size of 0.018" (0.43mm) was pioneered in Australia by TMA Corporation of Australia. This barrier has received acceptance in Australia, Asia, Hawaii, and other parts of the United States. REF

WHOLE BUILDING BARRIER SYSTEMS In the United States, a whole building termite and pest barrier system has now been developed. These barriers are classified by US regulators as "devices" and not as pesticides, can be installed during construction. These barriers exclude termites and other pests from entry through gaps, crevices, joints, and cracks in the structure. Installed during construction, these barriers have the potential of excluding almost all pests from entry, thus significantly reducing the requirement for pesticides over the life of the structure. Most of the testing for these barriers was performed at Texas A&M University during the period 2000 - 2015.

The whole building barrier system was presented to the National Pest Management Association's annual PestWorld 2015 at Nashville Tennessee, in October 2015 by Dr. Roger Gold.  NPMA Dr Roger Gold October 2015 

The whole building barrier system utilizes both particle barriers and screen mesh barriers, but the most important element, which covers the entire horizontal surface as well as any vertical surface where joints, seams, cracks, or crevices could allow pest entry, is a sealant. The sealant barrier is considered permanent, as it is elastomeric, and accomodates movement of building components caused by wind, settlement, temperature changes, and moisture.