i6o First Report on Economic Zoology. 
Termitaria of the arboreal species are also found on the roofs of houses, 
stables, etc. The nests occur both above and below ground. Methods 
of extermination must therefore depend on the species causing destruction. 
Methods of Prevention and Remedies. 
As the White Ants nearly always work under cover, the damage they 
do is often not detected until too late. It is therefore necessary to protect 
objects from being attacked. This can be done (1) by making ground 
wood-work either obnoxious, poisonous or inaccessible to the Ants ; (2) by 
lessening the number of Termites by poisoning and destruction of their 
nests. 
Making Ground Wood-work Obnoxious and Poisonous 
to Termites. 
Steeping posts, poles, timbers of houses, etc., in various smelling 
substances has met with more or less success. 
Use of Creosote. — In India creosote was used by the Government for 
treating all the railway sleepers before they were laid. 
In the outskirts of Columbia great damage has been done by White 
Ants ( T . flavipes') to board fences : “ The chief damage is done where the 
boards meet on the posts. It is particularly noticeable where a batten is 
nailed on at a joint. Professor Atkinson states that tar poured on 
between the posts and the boards soon after building the fence will act as 
a preventive.” * 
Experiments conducted with wood-boring insects and creosote-soaked 
posts has not invariably met with success with Termites or other insects 
after the wood has been “ planted ” some time. It cannot therefore be 
recommended for telegraph poles, etc., that are being destroyed in the 
Sudan. 
Use of Arsenious Soda. — Of more lasting effect is steeping the parts of 
poles, etc., that are placed below ground in arsenious soda dissolved in 
mineral oil. 
Protection of Telegraph Poles and Buildings. — Telegraph poles might 
easily be protected by having the part buried either embedded in cement 
or encased in zinc or tin. The metal should be painted with non-corrosive 
paint. Cement casing would be best, as the tin would probably corrode 
rapidly unless carefully painted, and the least hole would let the pests into 
the wood. Zinc casing has been employed for foundation wood-work in 
buildings with success, the zinc passing up the timbers out of the ground 
and then bent over (Fig. 17, 2) so as to prevent the ants crawling upwards. 
Complete dryness in buildings is also essential in regard to checking some 
species of White Ants. All floors of houses in the districts where White 
Ants are destructive should be made of concrete (or raised well above 
ground, as shown in Fig. 17, 3). No furniture should be allowed to 
stand against a wall. Where wooden floors are essential, the furniture 
may be protected by standing the legs in small tins with paraffin oil in 
them. 
* “Insect Life,” I. 353. 
