Question
QUESTION: Dear Mr.Ray,
I am a novice gardener. My home was recently treated for termites and I was advised to not use mulch any longer. The area in question is a 25'x 5' space between the house and concrete walkway.I live in hot drought prone south florida, I have a dog who walks into the area on occasion therefore mulch with termicide is out of the question. I have been told that rocks will burn the plant roots. I do not have any leaf laden trees that I can use dropped leaves from.Water conservation is also an issue. Any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
 Thank You, Judy M. West Palm Beach Fl.

ANSWER: Hey, Judy.

It's the novice termite professional who recommends against mulch. There is no problem with using mulch because it is composed of tree bark, which is not what termites are after. They need the soft wood of the interior tree that is full of water and nutrients. Not all wood attracts termites. For example, redwood and cedar are naturally resistant to termites. So if you've been using mulch, and you like it, keep on keeping on.

Now let's address the termite problem itself. You live in South Florida. You have termites. There is no getting away from that. They swarm once a year, which is when a newborn queen takes off to look for her own home, and it might be yours. That's just a fact of nature, and that's why termite companies rarely, if ever, provide more than a one-year guarantee against future infestations.

The easiest thing to do is what I do out here, and we have two types of termites that swarm here, about six months apart. A termite inspection here costs $75, about $6 a month, so I put $10 a month into a home maintenance savings account to pay for a termite inspection each year. Sometimes they find termites, sometimes they don't. Either way, it's very inexpensive home maintenance considering the considerable damage that termites can cause if left alone.

As far as rocks burning the plant roots, that's extremely rare and usually only happens when you plant a new plant in the ground and immediately cover the soil with rocks. With both mulch and rocks, I would suggest putting a weed prevention cloth under the mulch and rocks.

Hope that helps.

Russel

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QUESTION: I live on 1 1/4 acre with a large pond, well and septic system (this is typical of the area I live in, the pond is dug to obtain fill for the pad to build the home on as we are a very low lying area prone to flooding when there is a lot of rain).This entire developed area of the county has a real problem with non native Australian Pine trees which settlers many years ago planted in the Everglades to dry it up.I have spent about 4000 dollars having many of these removed and the stumps ground, they are huge trees. They keep sprouting up. About every two weeks I have my son go out and pull up the sprouts but it is an ongoing battle. Removing root balls is cost prohibitive. Following the 3 hurricanes in 18 months a few years ago I saw first hand the immense size of the ones that blew over. Mowing them down is not an option for a while as I have lost so much dirt that I must have more brought in, then seed the area for grass. I can't risk contaminating my well with chemicals. Any suggestions? Thank You Judy in Western West Palm Beach

Answer
Hey, Judy.

The Australian pine is not a true pine, but I'm not aware of it producing new trees through suckering of the roots. Rather, you probably just have a lot of seeds sprouting, especially if you've cut down the big tree. Most species of Australian pine are dioecious, meaning that both male and female parts are on the same tree, so it does produce an abundance of seed. Once you cut the main tree down, allowing sunshine to reach the soil, you produce conditions that are conducive to all those seeds sprouting. The best thing to do is simply to continue pulling the sprouts until there are no more.

Hope that helps.

Russel