Wood Mulch around shrubs near house foundation = Termite heaven??

[Hillbilly]

This is a issue that I've discussed with my pest (termite) guy, neighbors, etc. Does putting wood mulch such as pine or hard wood around shrubs near the house foundation attract termites?

I can't find anybody that has a verified answer. Anybody out there got any ideas, experience, etc they can share?

Hillbilly

[thefed]

some say yes, some say no. in my experience, it depends on the mulch, and how it was made

[W2R]

When I first moved into my house, the termite guy told me not to pile the wood mulch so high in the beds around the foundation, for what that's worth. He hasn't mentioned it since.

[OAG]

20 years in FL -- Always used Cypress mulch or River Gravel up close to the house, never a problem. Now, shortly before I left FL, they started using something called "Lava Rock" which comes under several names. It is almost permanent, never needs replacement, and if installed right you will not have weeds. It looks nice and now comes in several colors or shades. Expensive but, if installed right, is more or less permanent it may be less costly in the long run.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Termites tend to like large pieces of wet soft wood, preferably in cool dark areas.

Hardwoods mixed with bark, shredded, couple of inches deep, exposed to periods of sunlight...not as interesting.

Still, I'd use straight bark for 6-10' around the foundation, would keep it from piling up against the foundation (I like to see 3-4" of exposed concrete, minimum), and use the wood mulch around plants and areas away from the house.

BTW, I know a guy who buries chunks of pine about 4" deep in various places about 3-4' from his foundation and monthly he uncovers them to check for termites. If some show up, he treats the area with food based termite poison they take back to the nest. Seen them twice in about four years.

[Goonie]

We haven't experienced any problems here. I use cypress mulch all around the house and in most of the flower and shrub beds around the yard. I have river rock along a portion of the house that is too hot and dry for anything worthwhile to grow. And I have a border garden along the fence between our house and the neighbor's, mulched with hardwood mulch because that's what he used on his side of the fence, and it blends neatly together.

Like CFB said, termites prefer bigger hunks of wood and like it cooler and moister. Mulch with some exposure to sunshine shouldn't be too attractive to them.

As for the lava rock, I've used it here and there for years. In fact I have one flower bed that hardly ever gets shade, and it's hot and dry there, so I put in a border of bigger hunks of lava rock....like 1 foot rocks....and then I used the bags of lava rock along with some pea gravel as mulch for the drought and heat tolerant perennials. Looks good....needs VERY little maintenance.

[Dawg52]

When I sold my last house, the termite inspector said wood mulch was a no no around the house. Even though I had no termites, he said he would note it in his report. Sounded like BS to me but that is what he said. I use pine straw now.