GUELPH

Termite activity in Guelph at lowest level since tracking began

CTV Kitchener Published Sunday, April 23, 2017 6:09PM EDT

This photo provided by Thomas Chouvenc of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, shows young hybrid termite offspring eight months after the light-colored female Formosan termite, bottom right, mated with the darker male Asian termite, bottom left, in Florida. (AP Photo/Thomas Chouvenc, University of Florida/IFAS)

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Slowly but surely, the City of Guelph seems to be winning its battle against termites.

According to a new report prepared for city councillors, termite activity is now at its lowest level in Guelph since the city began tracking them in 1999.

At that point, officials knew that the insects had been in the downtown core dating back to the 1960s.

More termites were found in two small pockets of residential neighbourhoods northeast of the downtown in the 2000s, and evidence of termites was found south of the downtowns earlier in this decade.

In 2010, more than 929,000 termites were caught in traps set up by city workers. That number has declined steadily every year since – suggesting a decline in Guelph’s termite population – and fell to its lowest level yet in 2016, with 3,753 termites trapped.

Additionally, termites are now only considered to be active at 14 properties in the city. In 2011, that number stood at 104.