Does wood chips around your trees and in your garden attract termites

[bovine421]

I'm reluctant to use wood chips or none cypress mulch around my trees because even if there's just a minuscule chance of creating a conducive environment for termites I don't want to take that chance. I could get all i want from tree trimming operations.

[Satya]

I have used woodchips extensively in the last 2 years. And our area in termite prone. Just discovered a neighbor’s mango stump eaten by termites because she didn’t make a slant cut while topping, the water collected over the stump and hence the result. I have turned my woodchip carpet inside out many times out of curiosity. All i found so far was a white network of mold like structure which could be fungi of some sort.And tons of millipedes, the mulch laid 6 months ago is an inch of brown dust now, but grubs also like this rich layer together with millipedes...so i guess they decompose faster than termites can meal on them, at least here down south where winters have been warm the last few yrs.

[bovine421]

I have used woodchips extensively in the last 2 years. And our area in termite prone. Just discovered a neighbor’s mango stump eaten by termites because she didn’t make a slant cut while topping, the water collected over the stump and hence the result. I have turned my woodchip carpet inside out many times out of curiosity. All i found so far was a white network of mold like structure which could be fungi of some sort.And tons of millipedes, the mulch laid 6 months ago is an inch of brown dust now, but grubs also like this rich layer together with millipedes...so i guess they decompose faster than termites can meal on them, at least here down south where winters have been warm the last few yrs.

Thank you for your observations that is useful. From a preliminary search of the net the only nugget of information that stands out in my mind is that they say that it provides a pool of moisture or a comfort zone for termites to explore. They insinuate that they don't actually eat the mulch.😊

[forumfool]

Termites burrow into dead wood to eat it. Can’t really do that with wood chips. I only ever seen termites in old tree stumps, rotted fence post, and yes house framing

[bovine421]

Termites burrow into dead wood to eat it. Can’t really do that with wood chips. I only ever seen termites in old tree stumps, rotted fence post, and yes house framing

Thank you for your input The Farmhouse is the part  that I'm worried about

[forumfool]

Another thing is ants and termites are mortal enemies. Leave any ant mounds near your farmhouse.

[Mike T]

Yes there is a real risk of attracting termites and keep woodchips well away from the house and wooden structures.

[zands]

I have gotten centipedes in my house from wood chips. I kept my lawn and only put chips right at my fruit trees. You cover yr whole backyard with wood chips. You will get more centipedes, at least in SE Florida.

[Jaboticaba45]

For me, I have seen certain types ants colonize where I put wood chips.

[johnb51]

I've always used wood chip mulch, the bagged Home Depot-type, around my trees and in my flower beds and never seen any termites.

[mbmango]

I've never seen drywood termites in wood mulch, although I did find them inside a dying mango tree a while back, and we get them all over the homes here, but I just found subterranean termites in my wood mulch in one part of my yard.  Still trying to figure out what to do about them.

[Mike T]

It probably depends on you area and the abundance and diversity of local termites but woodchips are a known risk in my area but perhaps not in others. I have often seen woodchips with termites in there even co habiting with ants. It is a coincidence someone mentioned centipedes as I had one in my bedroom yesterday that I nearly stepped on when I got up on the morning. This 6 inch agitated green invertebrate showed some backbone in its fight to the death.

[EddieF]

Old thread, i'll add my past 3 days experience.
Dumped 4 unopened bags of mini pine bark nuggets i had sitting on ground for a few months.  Got wet when rained, stored outside.
Loaded with grains of rice looking things termites? and 2x as many tiny eggs.
I went over to my small mango trees with same mulch applied 2 months or so ago & same bugs, eggs & tiny brown red ants to boot. 100's of them all.
Spent yesterday & today removing it all from planters which are 3' x 3' & mulch was a few inches deep.
I still have the 4 bags i dumped to pick up.  Not risking it next to my only old mango tree.

Thought i'd share.
Ed

[pineislander]

Termites fly wherever they want, even from a tree root a mile away then up to the top of your house. They are ubiquitous and can use any wood for food, even can eat paper and cardboard. They are part of the decomposers and the soil food web. You can lay a piece of soft wood on the ground & within six months they will find it along with several other insects, borers, and decomposers. So, there really isn't anything you can do which will "attract" them, they are already here, or will come.
Will you pick up and remove every bit of pine bark that falls from the tree, every unseen root which dies off underground, or every twig which falls? Of course you won't. Will you poison every inch of your property? That surely can't build soil because of collateral damage to the other soil life.

Useful structural things we want long term must be made of resistant materials, treated to preserve them, or protected with termiticides. That is all you need to do. Fighting with termites to any other extent is like fighting against having rain fall on your property.

[JakeFruit]

Yes, wood chips will attract termites; usually not the dry wood variety, but most definitely damp wood termites. There are certain types of wood termites won't attack (Cypress here in FL), but anything you are mulching with likely has food potential. If you completely turn every inch of your mulch piles over once a week or so, you might keep them away, but it's a losing battle. If your fruit trees are close to your house or other wood structures, do NOT mulch with wood chips.

They are a fact of life for most of us, unfortunately. I've watched dozens of houses around mine (many built within a few years) getting tented over the last decade. Numerous invasive termite species have established themselves in Florida (https://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/termites-in-florida/termite-types/), and now we have hybridized varieties to worry about. Pressure-treated wood, concrete block and steel frames are the only long-term protection a home has, and they'll still come after your cabinets and other wood furnishings. I see alates (winged swarmers) flying around porch lights all the time, now that I know what they look like. If a male and female swarmer happen to meet up near any wood you care about, they'll establish a new colony before you know it.