Who knew a bag of mulch could contain so much hysteria?
As in, open the bag and let loose the mother of all termites to devour your precious home.
In a picture of doom and gloom working the global telegraph, an unknown writer lays out this plausible scenario: The Gulf states are home to the highly destructive Formosan termite. All the debris from trees toppled by hurricanes Katrina and Rita is being chipped into cheap mulch. When you buy it at the mass merchandiser this spring, the mulch will be infested with said insect. "These termites can eat a house in no time at all and we have no good control against them," according to a widely circulated e-mail.
Bogus. Experts say that the chances of the insect arriving in mulch are highly unlikely for various reasons. And even if said bug made it this far, it could be effectively eradicated.
Still, in this Internet age, the urban legend has circled the globe faster than a Category 5 typhoon. County extension agents, pest specialists and other professionals have been deluged with e-mail from people raising the alarm.
"I've been dealing with it like crazy," said Michael Potter, a specialist in destructive pests and an entomologist at the University of Kentucky. "It's a classic example of how chaos can be created by bad information being shared around on the Internet, all those chat rooms."
And what does he tell them? "Nothing in the world is impossible, but it's exceedingly unlikely," he said.
The scare prompted Bob Odom, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, to issue a statement saying that "someone is using the Internet to cause hysteria about a problem that doesn't really exist."
To be sure, the Formosan termite is formidable. The species can develop huge colonies -- in the millions -- and is more destructive than the native species of subterranean termite. But it has remained in the Gulf states since it was accidentally imported from Southeast Asia after World War II, when Taiwan was more commonly known as Formosa. It is not found in nature above the 35th parallel -- roughly, north of Charlotte -- and the ability of a colony to survive the shredding process of mulch, or the 130-degree heat generated by mulch, makes its spread improbable, said Potter and other entomologists.
Also, termites need a colony with a queen to survive and expand, though it is possible for a mini-colony of immature termites to create its own egg-laying queen, said John Chapman, manager of technical services for Terminix International Co., based in Memphis.
Earlier pesticides were less effective against the Formosan than against the native species, but new ones have been developed that do the trick, Chapman said.
One other thing working against termite imperialism: Odom's agency in October imposed a quarantine of 12 parishes affected by the disasters, restricting the movement of unfumigated woody debris. It is possible that some bootleg mulch companies might be moving product north, but the idea that infested mulch is being sold to mass merchandisers -- the anonymous e-mail mentions Home Depot and Lowe's -- is false, observers say.
Home Depot issued a statement stating that the company's bagged mulch is not made in the Gulf region, and that it requires all its mulch vendors to meet the standards of the Mulch and Soil Council. This would prohibit the use of recycled lumber.
Lowe's follows similar standards, said spokeswoman Karen Cobb, who called the e-mail "very misleading to the public and false." The Mooresville, N.C., company has posted signs in each of its 1,200 stores assuring customers of its safeguards against pest-ridden mulch.
Mulch is used to conserve soil moisture, keep down weeds, provide an attractive covering and build the soil. For many gardeners and homeowners using landscaping firms, spreading it on garden beds is as much the official start of spring as the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms.
Acknowledging the remote chance of the termite making it to the Washington area in bootleg mulch, entomologist Michael Raupp of the University of Maryland said, "The right response now is vigilance. Buy local mulch [or] inspect your bag."
Of course, our native subterranean termite can do great damage to homes and other structures, and has been found in bags of mulch, Raupp said. But usually these are bags that have been left in the garden for a while and have attracted termites already in the garden.
As a rule, Raupp said, you shouldn't lay wood mulch within 18 inches of a structure's foundation. Chapman said that if you have had a liquid barrier treatment around the home, don't disturb the soil immediately next to the building.
Mulch comes in many forms, some considered superior to others. Bark mulch and the mulch made from the wood of certain trees high in volatile oils such as cedar and cypress are favored because they don't break down as quickly as wood mulch, and they repel insects. Many gardeners like to use pine fines, which is the chaff from the manufacturing of pine bark mulch. It is closer to soil in appearance than mulch shreds or nuggets and makes a great soil amendment for acid-loving plants.
The Mulch and Soil Council says certified mulch does not contain wood recycled from any building materials, primarily to keep pressure-treated wood, impregnated with copper, chromium and arsenic, out of the waste stream.
One of the most destructive pests with mulch is the human. Mulch piled too thickly -- more than two or three inches -- forms a growing medium for weeds, encourages harmful root development in shrubs, can smother the crowns of perennials and prevents water from reaching the soil.
Mulch piled against tree trunks can cook the bark and cause harmful root development. Still, overuse of the product is a practice widely followed by landscapers and homeowners alike. Horticulturists aghast at the practice appear to have a new weapon: the e-mail.The Washington Post
