The Nearly Unkillable Termite Pests That Nearly Destroyed A Country’s Economy
The Nearly Unkillable Termite Pests That Nearly Destroyed A Country’s Economy
Termites are problematic for people living in most regions of the world. Here in the United States, termites like the eastern subterranean termite and the Formosan subterranean termite cause billions of dollars in damage each year. Given this astronomical amount of money, it is hard to believe that termites are less numerous in the US when compared to most other non-arctic countries. South America, Asia, Africa and Australia all see more termite activity than the United States. Asia, specifically southeastern Asia, is particularly unlucky when it comes to termite damage. Although China, Japan and South Korea are major economic powers, most governments that operate within Asian countries would not be able to afford repeated termite related crises. Sri Lanka is one country located in South Asia that is home to a variety of different termite pests that constantly threaten the country’s economic health. One of the worst termite offenders in the country is a species of termite that is referred to as Glyptotermes dilatatus. Several decades ago, this species caused an economic depression in the country. These termites caused an economic crisis in Sri Lanka that lasted well into the 1980s, and after.
Although we Americans are familiar with termites and termite-related property damage, there are no termites in the US that can be considered crop pests. This is not the case in many other countries and continents in the world. In Sri Lanka Glyptotermes dilatatus termites are pests to timber, Coffee, rubber trees, cloves and cocoa. However, these termites caused an economic crisis by feeding on tea bushes within large-scale plantations during the 1960s. It did not take long for these termites to completely destroy entire tea plantations. Obviously this resulted in the total collapse of a major sector of Sri Lanka’s economy, as tea was a major source of capital for the country. The replanting of tea bushes lasted until the 1980s and some would argue that Sri Lanka’s economic prowess has never fully recovered.
Have you ever visited a country that struggled with termites as crop pests?