Assessment of technologies and dogs for detecting insect pests in timber and forest products

Abstract

Lack of accurate tools for detecting insect infestation in timber remains a big challenge for pest management authorities. Seven non-destructive insect detection technologies were used to assess their effectiveness in detecting insect borers and termites in timber samples. These technologies were: Termatrac®; Tramex Moisture tester; Acoustic Emission Device (AED-200L®); X-ray, thermal imaging camera; a termite detector dog; and trained quarantine inspectors using standard visual inspection (VI). The timber samples of Acacia parramattensis and Acacia decurrens used for the trial were naturally infested timber branches; timber blocks inoculated with lyctine beetles; timber blocks naturally infested with termites; and un-infested controls. All timber samples used were destructively sampled at the end of the trial to confirm the presence or absence of insects. The detector dog was 100% effective in detecting natural infested termite colonies but was totally ineffective in detecting termites on artificially inoculated timber blocks. The moisture metre and the thermal image camera were 100% effective in detecting large termite colonies but ineffective in detecting other insects in dry timber samples. The effectiveness of other methods of detecting insects or termites varied considerably. The AED was 79% effective, Termatrac 70%, X-ray 40% and VI 35%. Implications of these findings for quarantine and inspection purposes are discussed.

Keywords:

• Insect
• detection
• technologies
• timber
• borers
• detector dogs

Acknowledgements

Dr Jonathan Taylor, Manager, Operational Science Program and new Technology (BSG) – for help in co-ordinating the AQIS entomology team in Melbourne (Adam Broadley, Luke Watson, Antonette Sindik) and Sydney (Ross Rickard, Ben Boyd) for help in the trial, collecting timber samples and providing equipment/laboratory facility. Mr Jim Creffield and Ms Jenny Carr CSIRO Material Sciences and Engineering for help with the trial and supplying lyctine beetles for the trial. Mr Trevor Johnston, Sales Manager, Buy-wise Inspections & Top Dog Pest Solutions, Melbourne, for providing termite and termite infested timber blocks.