1CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie, Communication Chimique, 31 Chemin J. Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France.
2Laboratoire de Préservation, CIRAD-Forêts, 73 Av. J.-F. Breton, 34032 Montpellier, France.
Termite infestation is a growing threat for dwellings in Europe and a constant risk for buildings in the tropics. Many French overseas territories and departments are affected by this problem. Some tree species in tropical rain forests produce essential oils containing molecules with properties that ward off termites. In this report, we describe studies carried out in our laboratories to extract these substances from wood by-products and use them to produce environmentally safe termite control products.