# Is There Any Truth To This Email I Received



## stihlatit (Mar 16, 2006)

Pass the word to those you know.

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.


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## 04ultra (Mar 16, 2006)

Makes sense to me .. This could spread problems all over the USA if this is whats happening..


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## clearance (Mar 16, 2006)

stihlatit said:


> Pass the word to those you know.
> 
> 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.
> ...


Awesome-all you framers out there, buy it up and give it away!!!!!!!!


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## jp hallman (Mar 16, 2006)

Don't see how it could happen. I'm not an entomologist. Mulch sits and then is bagged. It generates a lot of heat before it can be bagged. Same as bailing wet hay...It's gonna' burn. Termites can't survive those temperatures and the USDA doesn't allow certain shipments across state lines.


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## jp hallman (Mar 16, 2006)

OK, here's the low-down.

Warning About Formosan Termites in Mulch From Chipped Trees in New Orleans-Fiction!
Summary of the eRumor: 
The forwarded email warns that mulch showing up in your local home improvement store could include Formosan termites. The reason is that trees that were blown over during the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast are being turned into mulch and given to anyone who will haul it away. New Orleans is one of the places in the country for Formosan termites established a foothold--so buyers beware.
The Truth: 
There is widespread and legitimate concern in Louisiana and other parts of the South about the destructive Formosan subterranean termite, but not because of mulch made from downed trees from New Orleans. The local governments are not "trying to get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state or company who will come and haul it away." The Louisiana Department of Agriculture has established a quarantine that prohibits taking any goods or materials damaged by the hurricanes out of the 12-province area of New Orleans. That includes all wood waste, such as fallen trees, whether the trees are intact or have been chipped into bits and pieces.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Formosan subterranean termite is one of the most destructive termite species in the world. It takes only one king and queen to produce an enormous colony. A mature colony can include millions of termites and can produce 3,000 new termites per day. The USDA says it is believed that the pests came into the U.S. from Taiwan aboard ships during World War II. The University of Florida says that the first recorded infestation of Formosan termites was in 1957 in Charleston, South Carolina. Within a few years colonies were found in Galveston and Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. The USDA estimates that in New Orleans alone the Formosan termites infest 30 percent of the trees.

The Formosan termites are weak fliers so they do not naturally move long distances. They spread to other areas primarily through being transported in infected wood. In Louisiana authorities believe the prime method of spreading the termite has been through infested railroad ties such as is used for landscaping. Louisiana is also monitoring or restricting the movement of telephone poles and other large timber. Dr. Matthew Messenger of Dow AgroSciences confirmed for TruthOrFiction.com that most of the trees in New Orleans are being run through chippers and either being burned or dumped into landfills. Also, he says that the termites are soft-bodied, including the queen, and would probably not survive the chipping process. He adds that the only case he's heard of where termites were found in mulch at a retail store was when the bags were left on the ground long enough that the termites infested them directly, not because they were from any trees that were used to make the mulch.

TruthOrFiction.com also talked with with of the top experts on Formosan termites, Dr. Afhok Raina, Supervisory Research Entomologist, for the Formosan Termite Research Unit of the USDA. He said that the chances are poor of any live termites from New Orleans ending up in bags of mulch going to other parts of the country. He said that to begin with almost all of the damaged trees were underwater, which would have killed the termites. He, too, said that the termites are not likely to have survived the chipping process and adds that if any live termites did end up in a bag of commercial mulch, they would not survive the heat that results from being sealed in a plastic bag especially if exposed to sunlight. Dr. Raina said that there are concerns about termites in mulch, but that applies to mulch that already exists in a particular location and can easily become infested with local termites. He says that he does not recommend that homeowners put mulch very close to their homes. Pest control professionals will frequently establish a chemical barrier around the home to keep termites out. He says that mulch can compromise that barrier and become the bridge for termites to regain access.

One of the retail stores mentioned in the eRumor is Home Depot. TruthOrFiction.com contacted their corporate offices and was told that Home Depot does not sell mulch from any termite-infested trees and does not use any mulch suppliers from the New Orleans area. The Mulch and Soil Council (MSC) has established standards that are based on criteria for mulch and soil certification and inspection. Home Depot requires that all mulch suppliers be certified by the MSC.


Last updated 3/6/06
A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

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.


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## stihlatit (Mar 16, 2006)

Thanks JP


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## clearance (Mar 16, 2006)

According to the report they will not survive being chipped but they live in railroad ties. How can they survive all the nasty poisons used in treating ties but die when chipped? Not that I care, just pointing something out, I call a little BS.. I think JP is right, but this guy, Dr. Afhok Raina is just speculating, is he not?


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## Rtom45 (Mar 16, 2006)

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture says there is no risk of termites in mulch this year. Rumor started on the Internet is unfounded with no documentation.


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## Robert Mickley (Mar 20, 2006)

clearance said:


> According to the report they will not survive being chipped but they live in railroad ties. How can they survive all the nasty poisons used in treating ties but die when chipped? Not that I care, just pointing something out, I call a little BS.. I think JP is right, but this guy, Dr. Afhok Raina is just speculating, is he not?



I've seen termites in ties, but my guess is they got there after they where treated, What I've never understood is why a termite would attack a nasty old tie in the first place. It has got to taste nasty. 

As for the mulch, I would think the grinding procces would be hardest on them, and then maybe the treatments and bagging would get the rest. But then again now that I think about it. I have sawn logs with ants in them and probably only killed a few with the bandsaw.

Safest bet is not to use mulch near the house. I persoanly use washed river rock and white stone.


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## skwerl (Mar 20, 2006)

Termites nest inside of solid wood. The mulch is chipped up too small for them to live in. 

As for railroad ties, the creosote doesn't soak all the way through the wood when treated. The core wood is still a suitable environment for termites.


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## Kneejerk Bombas (Mar 20, 2006)

clearance said:


> According to the report they will not survive being chipped but they live in railroad ties. How can they survive all the nasty poisons used in treating ties but die when chipped? Not that I care, just pointing something out, I call a little BS.. I think JP is right, but this guy, Dr. Afhok Raina is just speculating, is he not?


Maybe the ties are shipped to remote locations and then treated.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Mar 20, 2006)

Hmmm. But new ties aren't usually used in landscaping, are they? I'm used to seeing used ties sold for that. I sure wouldn't use new ties - too messy.


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## geofore (Mar 20, 2006)

*termites*

did you see the LSU piece? www.agctr.lsu.edu/termites bottom of the page?


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## 12guns (Mar 20, 2006)

*no problem*

Termites live in the ground. They cannot survive in a plastic bag. Yes furmosin termites are mean sons of ?????es, but I don't thing they can make such a journey and live to eat another day. Even if there were a few in a bag, they are only the workers and they have no purpose in life w/o the rest of the fam...


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## 12guns (Mar 20, 2006)

skwerl said:


> Termites nest inside of solid wood. The mulch is chipped up too small for them to live in.
> 
> As for railroad ties, the creosote doesn't soak all the way through the wood when treated. The core wood is still a suitable environment for termites.


The only type of termites that live in wood are dry-wood termites. All others are sub-terrainian...living in groung. they build tunnels and eat/transfer cellulose to other termites. Carpenter ants live in rotten and soft wood. Not termites.


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## 12guns (Mar 20, 2006)

Well, maybe some do live temporarily in rotten wood, but only a few kinds. The common types all live in ground and tunnel into wood and eat it til it's gone. Google has some good info as always.


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