Redwood Mulch Next to House

We are applying ¾ inch redwood bark chips as a mulch. Will placing them next to our house cause a termite problem? Our house is stucco. Thanks for your help.

I have heard that wood chips harbor termites. I don't think termites are good, no matter what your house is made of. Termites don't live on the surface, they live underground. What is your foundation made of? If you have a crawl space under your house, you have wood.

Agree with Daisy. Pull it back. I made a little V trench with shovel...filled with gravel. Not wide...a a few inches deep and wide... and then started the mulch from that point.

Although, I waited a few years at that house because the builder as part of the package did something to around the foundation that was a termite deterrent and did not want to break that barrier. They paid for first year terminix too.

Could have been a lot of baloney but I do remember waiting before the gravel.

Never had termites. Neighbors have.

This house..we knew we would have shrubbery and so put down landscape fabric almost to foundation... Then topped with mulch around the shrubs but kept away from foundation. The fabric still holding up. It's dark...can't see. Occasionally toss preen around in those areas against foundation to keep weeds down. No weeds around foundation ( occasional tulip tree start ) and no termites. We've been in this house..16 years.

I have had termites. They area a given on the East Coast. I have had treament companies and talked to Dept of Ag who licenses them.

Number one prevention; make SURE drainage is away from foundation all around house.

Termites can come and go, if they come at all. They need wood in a certain moisture level. Keep the wood dry, no termites. If structural wood is damp, they will happily travel through the dirt to get to it. They can even make dirt tubes up exposed walls to the wood.

Redwood is naturally rot resistant, isn't it? I use cedar or cypress chips in my front beds.

Not sure if my advice completely applies, now I notice you are in CA and may have a different kind of termite. Wood foundation? That caught my eye- unheard of here where missingrosie and I garden! Our crawlspaces are cinderblock.

It's the heartwood of redwoods that's resistant to rot and insects. The sapwood and bark don't have those qualities. Chips are made from all the scraps.

I didn't know that part about the moisture factor. I do have black plastic 6 inch piping at the gutter spout exit taking water away from house ( that's how I keep the pond full summertime when evaporation is an issue for the waterfalls )

I still would make sure the mulch is not brought up to foundation.