[AT] Termites in your mulch?

[Larry D. Goss]

This is pure conjecture.  The person who originally wrote this "warning"
knows very little about the life cycle and life requirements of
termites.  Among other things, the termites can't live through northern
winters, any live termites will be dead for lack of water, and the
number you could possibly get would be far below the critical mass
needed for the termites to establish a colony.  Termites don't live in
wood -- they live in the ground and feed in the wood.  

The LSU link that's provided gives better information concerning the
fact that Louisiana is attempting to control the exportation of any
infested wood and cellulose products.

Larry

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Mike Sloane
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 12:14 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: [AT] Termites in your mulch?

I am forwarding the attached without comment - I don't know how much 
truth there is to it, and I don't buy mulch.

Mike
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Louisiana agricultural dept. web site FYI.
<http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/termites/>

If you use mulch around your house be very careful about buying mulch 
this year. After the Hurricane in New Orleans many trees were blown 
over. These trees were then turned into mulch and the state is trying to

get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state or company who will 
come and haul it away. So it will be showing up in Home Depot and Lowes 
at dirt cheap prices with one huge problem; Formosan Termites will be 
the bonus in many of those bags. New Orleans is one of the few areas in 
the country were the Formosan Termites has gotten a strong hold and most

of the trees blown down were already badly infested with those termites.

Now we may have the worst case of transporting a problem to all parts of

the country that we have ever had. These termites can eat a house in no 
time at all and we have no good control against them, so tell your 
friends that own homes to avoid cheap mulch and know were it came from.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
mikesloane at verizon.net
Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>

You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image
when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
-Anne Lamott, writer (1954- )


_______________________________________________
AT mailing list
Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at