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Wood Mulch in Compost Pile?
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Posted by joanie_pomseed 8 (My Page) on Fri, Nov 6, 09 at 12:03
| I have a lot of oak wood mulch left over from stump grinding. It's been here for about a month and appears to have been breaking down. The soil it's in looks and feels really good, so I was thinking of using it to start a new compost pile. Should I be concerned about termites and other wood pests coming for the mulch and then infesting my trees (the wood in my house was treated to protect against termites before I moved here), or about wood fungi growing in the compost, or any other such potential problems?
Living near woods, I normally expect wood pests to be more attracted to the dead and dying trees out there than to my yard. I did see a few winged termites last spring before my wood chips were burned, but the last time I saw a termite colony, it was being carried off by ants. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Wood Mulch in Compost Pile?
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- Posted by ericwi Dane County WI (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 6, 09 at 14:24
| We compost considerable amounts of brush, sunflower stalks, & other woody materials, along with shredded leaves and garden refuse. All of this material is mixed up in the same pile. For whatever reason, I do not see evidence of termites when I open up the pile, in the spring. It could be that the population of fungi & bacteria in the pile creates an environment that is hostile to insects. Based on my experience, if you can set up an active pile, and manage to get it warmed up a bit, with microbial activity, insects will stay away. |
RE: Wood Mulch in Compost Pile?
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- Posted by ga.karen 8 a/b Moultrie, Ga. (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 6, 09 at 22:39
| The only time I've had a problem with termites was with a pile of wood products I forgot about. It sat for 2 yrs. and was about 1/4 of what it started out as. The heat was LONG gone...that is most likely the only reason I had termite activity in the pile. This pile also never got turned. |
RE: Wood Mulch in Compost Pile?
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Termites will nest in moist soils but they eat dry wood and since your mulch usually is not dry there would not be any termites in that mulch. In some 50 years of working with wood chips for mulch I've not yet seen termites in any of the mulches, dry wood nearby had termites and nests could be found in the soil under where that dry wood was, but not in the mulches.
I'd not be concerned. |
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