Pine Nugget Mulch Termites

I then started worrying that i might be attracting termites because of the wood based substance.

Pine nugget mulch termites. Sustained activity over time was significantly higher beneath gravel mulch. However subterranean termites favor the cool moist soil conditions created by mulches especially inorganic ones such as gravel which retains more moisture. This prevents termites from bridging over treated soil to reach your house. The pine bark mulch ranked sixth.

There isn t anything in pine needles that termites can eat. The chances are that the termites in mulch were simply using it as a covered protected from sunlight passage. Therefore it is unlikely that termites would seek it out as a food source. The insects can thrive down there but the mulch will provide a protective layer between the insects and your plants.

Dan suiter university of georgia entomologist says it is best to keep any mulch at least twelve inches from the foundation. The key is to make sure the bark or mulch is not next to your wood on the house. It s very possible for termites to germinate in the soil beneath the mulch layer. It contains little of the cellulose that they eat.

Mulch is the best way to keep weeds out moisture in and amend the soil. That said it hasn t been proven that pine straw mulch will keep termites out of your garden entirely. Studies show that while termites may feed on wood mulch it is not an adequate source of nutrition. I recently put down some pine bark mini nuggets as part of my landscaping.

Pine bark mulch allowed the termites to survive between 10 and 14 weeks before dying off completely though they were only considered healthy up to 10 or 11 weeks. The hospitable conditions beneath mulch likely accounted for the termite foraging activity. In the field termites were detected with equal frequency beneath mulches of eucalyptus hardwood pine bark and pea gravel and bare uncovered soil.