Termites in Bark Mulch??!!?

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scordra Coos Bay, OR(Zone 7b) Jun 07, 2007

I posted this question in a different forum but I haven't received any replies so I thought I'd try this one-- A co-worker said they'd never use bark mulch again because at a home he purchased recently, He found termites in large piles of bark (mulch)!!! I'm really hoping this is because it was large piles as opposed to a layer over a garden! Does anyone know if I have anything to fear before I spread bark mulch all over MY garden?--I appreciate any help I can get on this---Scordra

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jun 07, 2007

If you buy the bagged mulch it generally won't come with termites already in it (the chipper/shredder machine that they use to shred up the bark isn't too kind to them!). However termites will eat wood that's lying around, so if they're in your area they may come and munch on your mulch (one of the reasons why you shouldn't pile it right up against the foundation of your house). But as long as the mulch isn't coming in contact with parts of your house that may have wood in them, I don't think there's that much to worry about. If termites are a really big problem in your area, you ought to have Termidor or something like that done anyway because they're probably already either in the house or will be at some point regardless of whether you mulch or not. As long as you keep the mulch away from the foundation, mulching your garden isn't going to significantly increase the risk of termites infesting your house.

There was an urban legend after Katrina about Formosan termites in wood from that area showing up in mulch all over the country, Snopes judged this one to be false
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/termites.asp

And here's an article that I had posted a link to a long time ago on another thread about termites and mulch, it details some experiments done to determine which types of mulch termites were more/less likely to eat
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FR075

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scordra Coos Bay, OR(Zone 7b) Jun 07, 2007

ecrane3,
Thank you for the info and for the speed of your reply--I guess the benefits of this mulch will outweigh the risks as long as I check for termtes regularly. Again, Thank you. Scordra

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