Efficacy of a Series of Alkylammonium Compounds Against Wood Decay Fungi and Termites

The efficacy of four alkylammonium compounds was determined for eight common wood decay fungi and Reticulitermes sp. termites in laboratory tests. All of the compounds tested were found to be effective against both fungi and termites, but only dialkyldimethylammonium chloride was fully effective against all of the brown- and white-rot fungi tested in this study. On the basis of this and other studies, it is concluded that some of the alkylammonium compounds are satisfactory wood preservatives for the treatment of softwoods used in out-of-ground contact applications. More extensive field studies will be required before their potential as ground contact wood preservatives can be determined