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Q: I want to use wood mulch in the flower beds in front of my home to suppress weeds, but I’ve heard that it might lure termites to the house. Does mulch attract termites? If so, should I use gravel instead or just avoid using mulch around the house altogether?
A : The termites that cause the most impairment in the U.S. are subterraneous types that subsist in hugger-mugger tunnel and issue to provender . However , the types of wood used in mulch are n’t these termites ’ favorites . In fact , termite action may in reality be high beneath gravel than it is beneath Grant Wood mulch .
It ’s the moist soil under mulch that attracts white ant — not the mulch itself . Therefore , the bestmulchingstrategy for avoiding termites might be to use no mulch at all , but that could dry out out your flora and soil .
Mulch can provide an ideal environment for termites, but it doesn’t attract them to a home.
As any gardener who has done much spadework can attest , shoveling is much more difficult in hard , dry soil than in dampish ground . So , tunneling termite who stumble across the soft conditions beneath mulch in their wanderings are likely to lay out up family there simply to take advantage of the easy digging .
As Donald Lewis ofIowa State Universityputs it , “ There is no grounds that the moist conditions pull termite foragers from the fence landscape painting . Rather , when the termites stray into a suitable home ground they are more potential to stay on and feed in that orbit . ”
Rather than look forsigns of termitesin mulch , it is more authoritative to look for those signs beneath and around mulch . grounds of termites surrounding mulch can include mud tubes on foundation blocks , accumulation of flank , and any sighting of vaporize ant - alike dirt ball . If you witness them , you might desire tocontact an exterminator(one of thebest termite companiessuch asTerminixcan avail ) .
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Although gardeners might find termites in store-bought bags of mulch, it’s not the insects’ food of choice.
Referencing a University of Maryland termite study , Lewis take down that termites who received the testing ground control of white birch survived better than those who consume eucalyptus , hardwood , or pine bark mulch alternatively . “ This consequence , ” he conclude , “ suggest that although we routinely disclose termite in woods chip mulch , it is unlikely that they give heavily on organic Sir Henry Joseph Wood - based mulch . ”
In other words , white ant have a voiceless time staying live on a dieting of just mulch . TheUniversity of Kentucky Cooperative Extensionagrees that termites favour higher tone woodwind instrument , such as mental synthesis debris buried in backfill . So if you have termites around your home , your garden mulch may not be the issue ; it could be buried rubble your sign of the zodiac ’s builder lead behind instead . Termites also can be found in railroad ties or landscape timberland often used asgarden border .
Some types of mulch are more resistant to termites than others.
Mulch add up in many forms , and they ’re not all as probable to harbor termite . Consider thesetypes of mulchand their family relationship to these pest .
No matter the type of mulch used, it’s important to create a buffer between mulch and a home’s foundation.
To avoid creating the dampish environment that attract termites to mulch , the ground near your home ’s foundation slopes slightly downwards and away from the bodily structure . This should control that water system drains toward the yard rather than the house . Keep any mulch you apply , evenblack mulch , at least a foot aside from the origination to keep the ground there dry .
Also , quash applying mulch too heavy . After all , termites in mulch might be using it as a pathway rather than a food beginning . Florida’sUF / IFAS Extensionwarns that mulch laid too thickly ( more than 4 to 6 in deep ) is more likely to produce the damp , temperate conditions that termites prefer . It also can “ provide a ‘ bridge ’ over the process margin of a house , allowing termite to walk over from landscape to sign of the zodiac and avoid contact with dirt cover with termiticides . ”
Everything You Need for a Lush and Healthy Lawn
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keep your skunk green and your plants fly high does n’t just take a green pollex — it starts with the correct tools and supplies .
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