Exploring the effect of the installation position of bait station on bait spreading in termite colonies: Simulation study

摘要

Subterranean termites cause serious damage to wooden structures and manmade structures on the ground. In order to eliminate whole colonies, the baiting has been widely used. However, this method has the disadvantage that the bait stations must be installed in the entire surrounding space, including the damaged site and must be intercepted by termites. In this study, how the installation location of the bait station affected the bait spreading was explored. Tunnel patterns were generated using an agent-based model, and non-bait-infected and bait-infected termites were introduced in the tunnels. The bait was stochastically transferred based on the encounters of non-bait- and bait-infected termites. To characterize bait spreading dynamics, the time for the proportion of bait infected-termites to reach 30%, 90%, and 100% of the total population was measured. These times were denoted as T-03, T-09, and T-10, respectively. Simulation results showed that as the installation site of bait stations, r, approached zero, the spreading of bait started quickly, while T-09 and T-10 were minimum at r = 40 and 50, respectively. After T-09, the remaining non-bait-infected termites were spatially divided into two groups, near the nest and tunnel ends. Termites near the tunnel ends tended to survive without infection for longer time, causing the difference in the r value. The results gave an insight into the bait station installation to effectively spread the bait. Disadvantages and advantages of this model were discussed, and suggestions to make the simulation model more realistic were provided.