Drywood termites are experts at staying out of sight. They live inside wooden structures, quietly feeding and expanding their colonies where homeowners may not notice them until damage is already underway. But their hidden lifestyle also depends on a vulnerable biological process: molting. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have shown that bistrifluron, a chemical that blocks the formation of new termite exoskeletons, can destroy drywood termite colonies by interfering with the insects' ability to grow. The findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology . In laboratory testing, the treatment killed about 95 percent of a colony without the mammal toxicity concerns linked to many traditional termite control methods. A Safer Way To Target Termites "This chemical is more environmentally friendly than ones traditionally used for drywood termite infestations," said Nicholas Poulos, corresponding author of the paper and a doctoral student in UCR's Department of Entomology.…