If you are switching from organic mulch to stone or gravel mulch, or are afraid to use a natural mulch for fear of attracting or harboring termites, think again.
It's surprising, but termites are attracted to stone mulch or gravel mulch just as much as they are to organic mulch. Why? It's dark and damp and the temperatures stays pretty constant, that's why. All the reasons that mulch is good for soil around plants also mean the soil conditions are welcoming to termites, too. Roly polies and earwigs are happy there as well although they'd prefer to have some decaying organic matter to munch on. Hmmm. So what's a gardener to do?
The University of Kentucky Entomology Department offers up a great explanation of this, and a nice discussion about termites in general. If you need to bone up on your termites, here's where to get your termite and mulch education.
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Copyright June 4 2007 Barbara Martin All Rights Reserved
