t •' Journal of Environmental Management (1990) 30, 131-138 Public Perceptions of Termite Control Practices in Several Ontario (Canada) Municipalities J. Kenneth Grace Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S JAJ, Canada and Geoff M. Cutten Hazardous Contaminants Coordination Branch, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 135 St. Claire Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario M4V JP5, Canada Received 19 August 1988 Residents of neighbourhoods in four urban areas of southern Ontario were surveyed with respect to awareness, information sources, and attitudes towards subterranean termite control. The survey results indicate that the degree of awareness of termites as a problem in Ontario is largely dependent upon neighbourhood experience with termite infestations. Friends and neighbours were most frequently mentioned as sources of information, followed by newspapers and television. Attitudes towards pest control practitioners, and the applicability of survey methodology in designing pest management programmes are discussed. Keywords: termite control, pest management, pest perception. 1. Introduction Urban pest management has been defined broadly by Frankie et a!. (1986) as the management of pest populations at levels that are acceptable to particular urban groups. The emphasis on human constraints associated with pest infestation and control distinguishes the urban from the agricultural pest management framework, although surveys by Mumford (1977) and by Riccini and Brunt (1987) have pointed out the underlying importance of human attitudes and beliefs in agricultural pest control decision-making as well. Successful design and implementation of an urban pest management programme requires an understanding of the needs, attitudes, and information sources of the urban audience (Lambur et al., 1982; Levenson and Frankie, 1981; Byrne and Carpenter, 1986). This is equivalent to commercial marketing research, although the goal may be the transfer of information, technology, and ideas (Frankie et al., 1986; Kotler and Zaltman, 1971) rather thafi the sale of a tangible product. To this end, a number of 131 0301-4797/90/020131 + 8 $03.00/0 © 1990 Academic Press Limited