LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
"Real" mulch does not attract termites or carpenter ants. Wood chips does...
Tommy
Laying down mulch. Advice?
- Thread starter MagicMarker
- Start date
"Real" mulch does not attract termites or carpenter ants. Wood chips does...
Tommy
ProfessorTexas
Member
Didn't state that they ate it. But my understanding is that Any kind of mulch conserves moisture. That is mulches purpose (plus for the looks). It is the moist environment that encourages termites and lots of other bugs. Placing mulch up against a building also helps termites move into it seeking out wood that they do eat! My experience seems to confirm this.
If you must have mulch around your building think about leaving at least a six inch buffer between it and the foundation. That might help.
OP
MagicMarker
Well-known member
Glad they all worked out.
mnwebb
Well-known member
Round up is evil, stay away from it and do it right. Just a few mins looking up it up will show you that it's a cancer causing substance...why mess with it?
Turn the soil and cover with plastic or cardboard for a 4-5 hot days. This will kill the seedlings. Then cover with a weed-barrier and mulch 4-5".
Turn the soil and cover with plastic or cardboard for a 4-5 hot days. This will kill the seedlings. Then cover with a weed-barrier and mulch 4-5".
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Carpenter ants don't eat wood like termites. They prefer wet/rotting wood to build their homes. Mulch (not the same as wood chips) does not encourage either of them.
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Jon_E
Well-known member
Have had good luck with cardboard boxes, cut and laid flat on prepared soil, or even over the top of grass or weeds. Then soak it well, and place 2-3" of wood chips or bark mulch over the top. An hour or two a week is all it takes to walk around all of the garden beds and pull what little weeds manage to grow. I put new mulch down kind of randomly, as some areas decompose faster than others. I get my wood chips from local tree services or the Town, so I don't have to pay for them.
myredracer
Well-known member
Weeds, weeds, weeds - everywhere we go they're everywhere... I hate 'em.
There is simply no single method that works. Some weed species totally love mulch. Bark mulch may only last a few years or so, but depends on the tree species it comes from. Mulch is very high in carbon and very low in nitrogen, it's low in nutrients and has toxins in it (a trees defense against bugs is the bark). It causes nutrient problems in the soil and causes a nitrogen deficiency. Plants in a bed with mulch around will not thrive like they should. Mulch *looks* great at first but is not a great choice.
Small round stones (like drain rock or pea gravel) or clear crushed gravel (no fines) won't have nutrients in it but some weeds will still grow in it. Very annoying! I was looking at an area yesterday where I put 3" clear crushed road base last fall and it has several weed species growing in it already. Pffft.
There are many types of weed killers. Some kill everything and if in contact with roots can kill a tree, some only kill leafy plants, some only kill woody plants, some can be sprayed on grass and some can't, some kill weeds before they "sprout" (pre-emergent), some can be toxic, some you need to suit up for, etc., etc. Roundup is a good general purpose product and is relatively safe & non-toxic but isn't 100% effective. For tiny flower beds around a house, a pre-mixed spray bottle from a garden store is probably the way to go and then hand pick the occasional weeds that still grow or you missed.
About all you can do is put down landscape fabric and 3-4" of a clear gravel (no fines) and resign yourself to the fact that you will need to spot weed with a sprayer periodically throughout the growing season. Don't buy the box store ****, go to a landscape store and get the commercial grade stuff that road crews use. Alternatively, you can use a living weed barrier of a low growing plant that spreads out. Go to a garden store for suggestions. For our tree nursery, we are now using low-grow grass to choke out weeds. Horsetail still grows in it though (but I have a weed killer just for that, haha). You could make a small raised bed around each plant like say 12x12" or 18x18" so when you spray weed killer it won't get on plants.
Good luck!
There is simply no single method that works. Some weed species totally love mulch. Bark mulch may only last a few years or so, but depends on the tree species it comes from. Mulch is very high in carbon and very low in nitrogen, it's low in nutrients and has toxins in it (a trees defense against bugs is the bark). It causes nutrient problems in the soil and causes a nitrogen deficiency. Plants in a bed with mulch around will not thrive like they should. Mulch *looks* great at first but is not a great choice.
Small round stones (like drain rock or pea gravel) or clear crushed gravel (no fines) won't have nutrients in it but some weeds will still grow in it. Very annoying! I was looking at an area yesterday where I put 3" clear crushed road base last fall and it has several weed species growing in it already. Pffft.
There are many types of weed killers. Some kill everything and if in contact with roots can kill a tree, some only kill leafy plants, some only kill woody plants, some can be sprayed on grass and some can't, some kill weeds before they "sprout" (pre-emergent), some can be toxic, some you need to suit up for, etc., etc. Roundup is a good general purpose product and is relatively safe & non-toxic but isn't 100% effective. For tiny flower beds around a house, a pre-mixed spray bottle from a garden store is probably the way to go and then hand pick the occasional weeds that still grow or you missed.
About all you can do is put down landscape fabric and 3-4" of a clear gravel (no fines) and resign yourself to the fact that you will need to spot weed with a sprayer periodically throughout the growing season. Don't buy the box store ****, go to a landscape store and get the commercial grade stuff that road crews use. Alternatively, you can use a living weed barrier of a low growing plant that spreads out. Go to a garden store for suggestions. For our tree nursery, we are now using low-grow grass to choke out weeds. Horsetail still grows in it though (but I have a weed killer just for that, haha). You could make a small raised bed around each plant like say 12x12" or 18x18" so when you spray weed killer it won't get on plants.
Good luck!
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