HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-2021-62 - Termite Pilot Project - Project ReviewREPORT TO:Community and Infrastructure Service Committee
DATE OF MEETING:May10, 2021
SUBMITTED BY:Mike Seiling, Director of Building/CBO, 519-741-2200 ext. 7669
PREPARED BY:Tim Benedict, Manager, Building. 519-741-2200 ext. 7645
WARD(S) INVOLVED:All Wards
DATE OF REPORT:April 22, 2021
REPORT NO.:DSD-2021-62
SUBJECT:Termite Pilot Project –Project Review
RECOMMENDATION:
That Building staffalong with Communications staff be directed tocreate a Termites
Best Practice Guide for residentsand future property owners to follow to reduce
termite colonies and limit the impact of long-term damage and further spreadinto
private or public property, and furthermore
That the Building Division continue to administer the termite bylaw.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this report is to update Council on the success of the Termite Pilot
Projectand,
The key findingsof the Termite Pilot Project including the recommendation ofBest
Practices going forward.
There areno Corporate financial implications.
Community engagement included Inform and Consult.
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, the City of Kitchener piloted a Termite Control/Monitoring program administered
by the Building Division in the area bound by Briargate Drive and Greenock Drive. The
corporation fundedthe project annually in the amount of $40K. This program included the
installation of monitoring traps,consultant monitoring and reporting of termite activity,
borate treatments, application of entomopathogenic nematodes and community yard
waste cleanup weekends.During the 2017 budget process council extended this pilot to
be a 5-year pilot program so staffcould accurately measure the effectiveness of this
experimental control and monitoring program. With COVID-19 affecting workflows and
available committee time in early 2020 and since Council approved funding during budget,
th
the pilot program was continued for a6year.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
REPORT:
Pilot Project Actions
BorateTreatments
Staff workedwith the owners of the 23affectedproperties within the ‘red’ zoneapplying
borate wood preservative (through acontractor) to the existing 13 sheds during the week of
May 3-7, 2015.The following week borate rods were installed in 292 fence and decks posts
within the ‘red’ zone. The average active lifespanof borate rods is 12 years.
Nematodes
During the months of May and September each year of the pilot program staffcontracted
Kollegiate Lawn Care to apply entomopathogenic nematodes to the 23 properties within the
‘red’zone. For the nematodes to survive and penetrate the surface they need to be applied
during or shortly after rainy conditions. Attemptsweremade to apply the nematodes during
naturally rainy conditions; however,the weather didn’t always cooperate. As a result, the
City occasionally incurredcosts to have the lawns watered after the nematode application
throughthe pilot program.
Monitoring Traps
Early in 2015,Dr. Myles, a City retained Consultant, installed 460 monitoring traps in both
the ‘red’and ‘blue’zones. The initial inspection schedule was bi-weekly; however, activity
was so high in June2015by the beginning of July a weekly inspection schedulewas
implemented. With no termite activity in the outer ‘blue’zone during the 2015 season Dr.
Myles removed 156 trapsinearly 2016 leaving a single row of properties in the ‘blue’zone.
Monitoring of the ‘red’and‘blue’zone continued in 2017 and 2018 with no changesin the
number of monitoring traps. Based on continuous inactivity in the monitoring traps within
the ‘blue’zone, Dr. Myles removed the remaining 120 monitoring traps fromthe ‘blue’zone
in early 2019. Dr. Myles recommended monitoring activity only within the ‘red’zone. Below
is the number of the termites trapped and termites removed over the 6-year pilotprogram.
Termites Removed via Traps
2015564,736
2016390,884
2017272,476
201810,378
20195,344
20200
Yard Clean-up Weekends
Since 2014,the Cityorganizeda spring and fall yard clean-up weekend for the benefit of
the residents in the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ zones. The yard clean-up weekends included the City
arranging to have large dumpsters delivery to the street so residents could dispose of
dead/rotting wood,tree limbs, old tree stumps and garden mulch. The spring clean-up is the
most popular with almost twice as much yard waste (73.72 total metric tons) deposited in
the bins compared to the fall clean-up weekend (46.76 total metric tons).Seethe chart
belowfor annual waste totals.
Total Waste Collected in Metric Tons (MT)
SpringFallTotal for the Year
201522.4910.6033.09
20168.624.1812.80
20178.504.9113.41
20184.768.0012.76
201916.5310.1626.69
202012.828.9121.73
Totals73.7246.76120.48
The yearly data shows that the first year was the most successful in removingthe most yard
waste. Yard waste is what the termite colony would have been feeding on. In 2020,the last
year of the pilot project the waste bins were filled with yard waste, howeveryear after year
a lot more household waste is finding its way into the waste bins, see photos below.
Spring –2015Spring –2019 Spring -2020
As noted by Dr. Myles in his 2020 final report “2020 was the sixth year of a termite monitoring
and control project for the City of Kitchener. The infested block had no termite activity for
the whole year. It therefore appears that termites have been eradicated from the block and
traps have been removed.”The termite colony has retracted from 2015levels through
severalinitiativesimplemented through the Termite Pilot Projectand a fewkey findings from
the 6-year pilot program are leading to the Best Practice Guide.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision
through the delivery of core service while supporting both a Caring Community and Great
Customer Service
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM –This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of
the council / committee meeting.
CONSULT –The local Councillor has receivedupdateson the successes of the pilot project
on Briargate and Greenock within Ward 6.Also,in the Spring of 2021, Councillor Singh
created an information sheet sharing the facts of the 6-year pilot project with the 23 affected
properties in the ‘red’ zone.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
CSD-14-095
CSD-14-104
CSD-16-010
APPROVEDBY: Justin Readman, GM, Development Services Department
ATTACHMENTS:
2015 ‘Red’and ‘Blue’Zones
2016 Reduced ‘Blue’Zone Map
2019 Removed ‘Blue’Zone map