Off-Topic: More Concrete News

Mongolian Concrete Borers

"Again this summer, the dreaded Mongolian Concrete Borer (MCB) is making its
presence felt. The adults have never been seen, since they are nocturnal, yet larvae actively feed both day and night through streets, sidewalks and driveways. These pests are responsible for the cracks and heaving in concrete that make concrete sidewalks and driveways difficult to shovel in the winter and flip neighborhood kids off skate boards.

"The MCB was accidently introduced into the state of New York in 1919 with a
shipment of Mongolian concrete. Only after the expansion of the interstate highway system in the 1950s and beyond, did the pest spread west of the Mississippi. Fortunately, this pest has a distinct host preference for Mongolian concrete (thus accounting for the scarcity of super highways in Mongolia) and damage is directly proportioned to the amount of Mongolian concrete in any particular concrete slab.

"This pest may be monitored for by using the prone-auricular method of
insect surveying. This involves laying flat on your stomach with your ear pressed against the concrete slab. Silence is important to hear the grinding crunching sound of larval boring. Care should be taken to wear light colored, preferably reflective clothing when monitoring at night; interstate highways and busy streets require particular caution.

"The economic threshold of MCB's is 17.6 borers per cubic yard of concrete.
The only chemical presently approved by EPA for control of MCB infestations is tar, which if liberally applied to cracks, will gum up the borers' mandibles and reduce damage to acceptable levels. Often homeowners will not detect this pest until appreciable boring damage has occurred and the only rescue treatment available is coverage of the entire concrete surface with asphalt."

The above came from the insect pest protion of the Archives of the North Dakota Weekly Pest, July 22, 1988. It was written by Dean K. McBride & Dennis D. Kopp, Extension Entomologists, NDSU, Fargo, ND, who noted: "This infrequently reported, seldom seen pest has not received the press that it rightly deserves. Seldom are issues as misunderstood as they could be."

http://extlab1.entnem.ufl.edu/IH8PCs/humor/mborer.htm Received on Mon Mar 31 22:40:00 2003