Biodegradable pesticide delivery system

Abstract

The invention relates to a biodegradable, single stage pesticide delivery system, to protect wooden structures by controlling insects such as termites, and other wood destroying organisms, particularly the subterranean species. The biodegradable pesticide delivery system is a unique perforated and pressure treated sacrificial wood casing member with an interior cavity prefilled with a pesticide. Foraging wood destroying insects, such as subterranean termites, attack the non pressure treated areas of the wooden casing member. The casing member is a round cylindrical casing. It has also been found that casings in the shape of a square offer different advantages in that longitudinal depressions can be milled into their exterior surfaces which offer a much greater area of forage for attacking insects, eliminating the need to selectively pressure treat the casings. Also squared casings offer the opportunity to cluster multiple casings into one grouped unit, wherein each casing can be charged with a different pesticide. Squared surfaces also offer the opportunity to provide longitudinal or horizontal grooves machined into each exterior surface to simulate termite mud tubes. Also disclosed is the fact that round as well as square casings can have brightly colored location markers as closures, they can have a rubber or other flexible material closure with a self sealing hole for a hypodermic needle to pass there through, for injecting liquid pesticides into the casing. The casings either round or square can have an acoustic monitoring system to detect the presence of foraging insects, and the casings can have lateral holes bored into the same at an angle of 45 degrees from the horizontal to prevent soil from filtering into the casing. Also disclosed is the use of a corrugated paper cavity matrix with graduated alignment of the corrugated openings, to stimulate insect activity at the site, or alternatively, the corrugated paper cavity matrix corrugations may be oriented laterally, or longitudinally, and impregnated, or dusted with a pesticide and become an active pesticide carrier.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.