Termite Damage to Buildings in Benue State, Nigeria: Termite Diversity and Nature of Attacks, Economic Cost of Maintenance and Residents’ Perception and Control

Globally, the annual economic cost of termite damage and termite prevention in the housing sector is estimated in the billions. However, in sub-Saharan countries in Africa data on damage and cost of termite-related maintenance are scarce. This study was designed to investigate termite damage to public and residential buildings, quantify the financial cost of termite-related building maintenance with the intent of building the capacity of home owners to deploy cost-effective prevention and control measures in Benue state, Nigeria. Four Local Government Areas (LGAs) in all were selected, Makurdi and Otukpo representing urban LGAs while Ushongo and Ogbadibo represented the rural LGAs. Termite infestation was based on visual observation of signs such as termite mud tunnels on walls, pores in walls, damaged parts such as roofs, windows and door frames, and wooden furniture among others. Questionnaires administration and household inspection were conducted concurrently across all four locations. Through purposive sampling techniques, residents and home owners experiencing perceived termite-related challenges within the communities were randomly recruited until 400 participants were enlisted. The termites attacking each house were collected in a vial with 70% ethanol and labeled with the house ID number and relevant data. The overall termite infestation rate in all four locations was high with 71.4% of inspected house having evidences of termite infestation. The rural settlements had higher infestation rates but the differences were not significant (P > 0.05) (χ<sup>2</sup>=7.783; P=0.100). <i>Macrotermes bellicosus</i> and <i>M. malacensis</i> were the most predominant termite species infesting buildings. Infestation rate was significantly higher in older buildings with building above 50 and 60 years having 29.0% and 23.3% infestations rate respectively (P < 0.05) (χ<sup>2</sup>=6.31 P=0.177). The overall knowledge about termites, source of infestation and effective control measures is poor at all study locations, with 151 (37.8%) of home owners not having any idea of sources of termite infestation while 128 (32.0%) believed that termites infested their buildings from neigbouring apartments. This perception was not significantly different for both urban and rural locations (P > 0.05). A total of 167 (41.8%) of home owners whose house were infested expressed the desire to abandon their apartments if they had alternatives. These desires were stronger in rural settlements with Ogbadibo and Ushongo having 34.7% and 25.1% respectively. This study revealed that home owners do not have sufficient knowledge regarding termite control. This poor knowledge could be a hurdle in the effective management of termites. Building the capacity of communities to identify and deploy effective termite control strategies through training is vital.