After more than two decades, Britain is finally rid of termites
Globalisation makes infestations more likely
IN 1994 THE owners of a pair of 1920s timber-frame bungalows in Saunton, Devon, spotted what looked like white ants crawling around their properties. They turned out to be termites—millions of them, thriving in the south-west’s temperate climate and well-draining soil. Four years later, when the Building Research Establishment (BRE), a laboratory paid by the government to eradicate the pests, got to work, termites could be seen wriggling in the flower-beds. No soil or wood could leave the site, for fear of spreading the infestation. The owners had feared their homes would have to be demolished; now they risked being stuck with them indefinitely.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Resident weevil”
Britain January 29th 2022
- Boris Johnson, the prime minister who can’t say no
- The Bank of England is determined to prevent a wage-price spiral
- Little sign of compromise over the Northern Ireland protocol
- Britain has long been a leader in genome-sequencing
- Brexit and covid-19 have produced a bigger civil service
- Britain’s newly listed tech firms are taking a beating
- After more than two decades, Britain is finally rid of termites
- Boris Johnson is making boring politics look attractive
From the January 29th 2022 edition
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