Wood mulch can have a variety of uses around the house. It can serve as a protective bedding for plants in order to keep their roots safe during cold winter months, as a decorative measure to improve the look of flower beds and landscaping, and even as a component of compost used to enrich the soil and make plants grow better. Unfortunately, wood mulch can also have a very unwanted effect: it can help to attract termites to your home. Sometimes mulch even helps termites gain access to your home. This doesn't mean that you simply should do without using wood mulch. It is important that you take the time to understand how wood mulch can be an attractant for termites so that you can determine how best to use mulch without inviting a termite infestation into your yard or house.



An Easily-Accessible Food Source

Obviously, one of the main ways that wood mulch can be an attractant for termites is by being an easily-accessible food source for a termite colony. Termites eat a variety of dead plant materials, especially in the form of wood, breaking down the cellulose contained within it as the main component of their diet. By spreading wood mulch over large flower beds or by having piles of wood mulch in storage near your house, you can create a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet for hungry termite colonies. Once infested, termite colonies in wood mulch can grow rapidly due to the abundant food that's available to fuel reproduction. As the colony grows in size, the infestation can spread to other mulched areas or other sources of wood… this is part of the reason that it can be dangerous to have untreated mulch touching your house, because termites can often make an easy transition from the mulch to wooden siding or interior supports.

Pre-Infested Mulch

Another danger that is much more prevalent in homemade mulch than it is in mulch that you purchase commercially is that the mulch itself might already be infested with termites before you use it. A termite infestation in the mulch might not be immediately evident, especially if the mulch is infested with termite eggs or the infestation is still in its early stages when you purchase or make the mulch. The termites might not be noticed until you've already begun spreading the mulch or until much later, at which point the infestation will have likely begun to spread to other areas where you've already put down mulch or where there are other wooden structures. It's important to note that while there were a number of urban legends about particular types of termites being spread across the country due to infested lumber from natural disasters being used in recent years to make mulch, these are largely unfounded due to the fact that many commercial mulches are treated with insecticides or put through other sterilization processes before being packaged and sold to consumers.

Easily Hidden Hordes

Perhaps the biggest problem concerning mulch and termites is the fact that it is generally difficult to tell that you have a termite infestation until it has become rather serious. More often than not, termites will not be immediately visible on the mulch, as the majority of the colony will be underground or setting itself up in the mulch itself. You may not realize that you have a termite problem with your mulch until the infestation begins to spread, as that will be when you will notice a large number of winged termites (which are the only termites that breed, and as such become noticeable when they are moving on to new areas in order to populate them with termite offspring.) By the time that winged termites become visible, it's very likely that there is already a full-scale infestation somewhere nearby.

Using Mulch without Attracting Termites

It is important to note that all of this doesn't mean that you can't make use of wood mulch to beautify your property or to assist your plants with their growth and protection… there are a number of different solutions available to help you use mulch without increasing your risk for termite infestation. There are several types of wood that are naturally resistant to termites, and these woods can be used in mulches to help keep termites away from your property. Other commercial mulches are chemically treated or otherwise prepared in ways that help keep termite infestations at bay. You can also help to control the threat of infestation by lining mulch beds with concrete or other materials that termites can't break down, and make sure that any mulch which touches your house is coming in contact with concrete or metal to keep potential infestations from spreading to your home should they break out.