Toward a Neighbourhood-Based Termite Program

The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (May 4, 1999) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, subject to amending Recommendation No. (5) to read as follows:

"(5)staff work with the University of Toronto to develop a plan for commercialization of the Trap-Treat-Release method of termite control and to determine how to extend and expedite the program City-wide; and report on implications for existing agreements between the City and University of Toronto and future year funding implications;":

Purpose:

(1)To address the growing problem of termite infestation in the City of Toronto.

(2)To revise the termite control program to make better use of City resources.

(3)To validate use of the Trap-Treat-Release method developed by the University of Toronto on a neighbourhood basis.

Financial Implications:

The changes in this report can be accommodated within existing approved funding for termite control.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Council endorse the new direction for the Termite Program as proposed in this report;

(2)staff work with the University of Toronto, local residents and the ward councillors, to undertake a neighbourhood-based termite eradication program in the Mogul/Mentor neighbourhood using the Trap-Treat-Release method;

(3)staff report on the progress of this pilot program and final results, and the potential for expanding the program City-wide, including alternative funding sources;

(4)the existing program of grants to property owners for chemical termite treatments be phased out in 1999, subject to outstanding commitments, and funds remaining in 1999 be disbursed to the University of Toronto to offset costs of the pilot program; and further that any funds held in reserve by former municipalities for termite control grants be applied to the pilot program;

(5)staff work with the University of Toronto to develop a plan for commercialization of the Trap-Treat-Release method of termite control, and report on implications for existing agreements between the City and University of Toronto, and future year funding implications, if any;

(6)Council write to the Federal Minister of Health to request that the research permit issued to the University of Toronto for testing of Trap-Treat-Release be renewed for three years in order to facilitate the pilot program;

(7)Municipal Licensing and Standards staff report on the potential to require Pest Control Operators to report all chemical termite treatments of individual properties, in order to assist the City in monitoring the spread of termites; and

(8)staff be authorized to enter into the appropriate agreements with the University of Toronto, in consultation with the City Solicitor, and to take any other action necessary to give effect to these recommendations.

Background:

Following amalgamation, the termite control by-laws and programs of former municipalities have been continued on a status quo basis. Over the last several months, an external consultant has reviewed the City's role in termite control and recommended changes to deal with the termite problem more effectively and make better use of City resources.

This report addresses pro-active action that the City can take to help reduce termite damage in the short term and perhaps eliminate the problem over the long term. At this time, a process is underway to harmonize the termite control by-laws of the former municipalities. When the new by-law is brought forward, Municipal Licensing and Standards staff will report on ways in which the new by-law and related enforcement measures can also address the termite issue.

Comments:

Termite Control Programs of the Former Municipalities:

All of the former municipalities had taken some steps in the past to protect property from termite infestation and reduce the spread of termites. These included termite control by-laws and in some cases grants to property owners to encourage them to chemically treat their properties if there was evidence of termite infestation. It is estimated that 18 percent of former City blocks have had properties treated for termites, and termite activity is known to exist in other parts of the new City. Staff have been working on a harmonized Termite Control by-law. The plan is to eliminate as many differences as possible among the existing by-laws and bring forward a unified by-law for the City of Toronto.

The former municipalities generally offered termite control grants to property owners through a provincially funded program that was active from 1978 to 1990. When this program was cancelled, municipalities continued to enforce their by-laws but only a few continued to offer grants, until such time as the provincial funds ran out or using municipal funds on a limited basis.

At the time of amalgamation, the former City of Toronto had a municipally funded termite control program. As noted below, the City of York also provided some funds annually to support termite research at the University of Toronto. The mandate of the former City's program was to actively promote termite control as part of a broader housing rehabilitation function within the Housing Department. As termites have been concentrated in older and more affordable neighbourhoods, termite control was considered a significant housing conservation issue for low and moderate-income homeowners. The enforcement of termite by-laws was, and continues to be, the responsibility of Municipal Standards staff.

Components of the Current Termite Control Program:

The following are components of former termite programs that have been carried forward:

(1)Monitoring and Promotion - documenting the spread of subterranean termites across the City, and informing property owners, the general public, and the real estate industry of the need to control this threat to the building stock. The "Termite Monitor" report that mapped the distribution of termites was published semi-annually until 1993 when the Province stopped requiring pest control operators to report treatment activity. The results of this monitoring is used in routine replies to solicitors who inquire on behalf of their future purchasers regarding the status of termites or treatments at a particular address.

(2)Termite Inspection/Advisory Service - housing program staff have developed an expertise in termite inspections and provide "third-party" advice to property owners on the presence of termites and proper control methods. Housing program staff and property standards officers have worked collaboratively to encourage and, where necessary, require owners to control active termite infestations. Housing program staff are pro-active in providing advice to property owners; Municipal Standards staff are responsible for enforcing termite by-laws to require treatment when voluntary co-operation is not forthcoming.

(3)Termite Control Grants - traditional termite control methods involve the chemical treatment of soil and elimination of wood-soil contact around a property. The current technology for termite control focuses on the use of a termiticide in conjunction with wood-soil separation to protect individual properties from underground termite colonies. Housing program staff can recommend grants of up to $500.00, as an incentive primarily for reluctant property owners to undertake the treatment and wood-soil separation, which can cost $2,000.00 or more. To date, given limited program funding ($24,000.00 per year) these grants are available only in the former City of Toronto

(4)Trap-Treat-Release Trials - From 1987, the former municipalities supported research at the University of Toronto into termite biology as well as more pro-active, environmentally friendly methods of termite control. For several years, with funding support from former municipalities and others, the Urban Entomology Program of the University of Toronto has been pioneering a new method of termite control. Traditional control methods use significant amounts of chemical to protect properties but do not address the source of infestation. The new method, called "Trap-Treat-Release" utilizes only small amounts of chemical and relies on the social behaviour of termites to disperse the chemical throughout the termite colony, thereby suppressing or eliminating the colony. Under funding agreements with some of the former municipalities, the U. of T. has been testing this new method across areas of the new City. While the results to date are very encouraging, the method must still undergo regulatory review, approval and then product development before it can become commercially available. In 1998, the U. of T. received funding of $75,000.00 from the City, representing the commitments made in multi-year agreements with the former Cities of Toronto and Scarborough. In 1999 this funding supports continuing field tests at sites across the City.

The existing agreements entitle the City to share in future royalties from commercialization, which could be used to expand the program in Toronto at some point in the future. The University of Toronto has recently requested the City's assistance in developing a plan to expedite commercialization.

Recommended Changes to the Termite Control Program:

As part of the process of creating an organizational design for the City's Shelter, Housing and Support Division, a review was undertaken of the City's role in housing rehabilitation. As the pro-active elements of termite control are part of this function, the future of the termite control program was part of this overall review. This included an examination of the relationship between the Division's role and that of the Municipal Standards group of Urban Planning and Development Services vis a vis program delivery. This study has made a number of suggestions regarding future delivery of the termite control program.

With regard to termite control, the consultant has recommended significant change to the City's approach. Over the past 25 years, the City and other levels of government have been treating the impacts of termite infestation rather than the cause. Most aspects of termite bylaws and enforcement, and grants for chemical treatment of properties, have related to the protection of individual buildings from termite damage. Despite this approach, and millions of dollars invested, the termite problem in Toronto has grown, not diminished. The City's small grant program, which disburses 40-50 grants to homeowners each year of $500.00 each, has virtually no impact on the spread of termites in the City. To expand the existing grant program, by increasing the funding and extending it across the whole City, would require a major investment of new funding and would have no effect on the underground termite colonies that are the source of the problem.

As a result of the review, the consultant has specifically recommended the following:

(1)Phase out the existing homeowner grant program, given the limited impact of this program in assisting homeowners (only 40-50 assisted per year), and the fact that it does not make sense to expand a program that has no impact on the source of the problem.

(2)The Shelter, Housing and Support Division undertake a pilot program, to determine the effectiveness of Trap-Treat-Release in eliminating termites on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis in Toronto. Similar initiatives are being currently being launched in Guelph and Pickering, and comparisons can be made through the course of the three-year pilot program.

(3)City staff work with the University of Toronto on a business plan for commercialization of Trap-Treat-Release and report on the implications for existing royalty-sharing agreements between former municipalities and the University of Toronto.

(4)The termite inspection function be carried out by the Municipal Licensing and Standards Division, as a function related to enforcement of a harmonized termite control by-law. Staff will report on this issue at the time that the harmonized by-law is brought forward to Committee.

(5)The City undertake to map the extent of termite infestation and treatment across the new City using existing data and GIS technology, and explore the potential to gather information on ongoing termite treatments by pest control operators using the City's business licensing authority (this review should be undertaken in consultation with the local pest control industry).

(6)The City work with the University of Toronto to develop and undertake a public education strategy to inform people of issues related to termite control and treatment methods.

Based on consultations with the University of Toronto to date, we are proposing that the pilot program be undertaken in an area of Toronto where termite infestation was recently discovered in 1998. This area includes portions of the following streets: Mogul Drive, Mentor Boulevard, Picola Court and Rollingwood Drive. This area has been selected, for the following reasons: it is reasonably self-contained in terms of termite activity; there is significant homeowner interest and willingness to participate in a community-based approach; and no field tests of Trap-Treat-Release have been carried out yet in this area.

Contact Name:

Joanne Campbell

Tel: 392-7885/Fax: 392-0548

--------

The following persons appeared before the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Dr. Tim Myles, Chair, Urban Entomology Program, University of Toronto; and

-Councillor David Shiner, Seneca Heights.