Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
woodswalker88

artificial mulch

woodswalker88
12 years ago

I just moved to a new house. The previous owners have put rubber "safety turf" mulch (made of ground-up tires) all around the shrubs & trees. I was told it was "to control /prevent the termites". It goes down about 5 inches and beneath that is some of that gray 'weed control" fibrous sheet material.

My friend, who is a native-plant fanatic, tells me "that stuff is bad--get rid of it."

I can see her point, because for sure it doesn't bio-degrade or offer any nutrients to the soil. I also think I will never hear the beautiful music of crickets singing in my yard, like I did at my old house (which had a very "natural", weedy yard that had never seen a chemical in the 34 years I lived there.)

Is there really any benefit to it, as far as keeping my house from being eaten up by bugs??

Should I get rid of it, and if so, how? I imagine it would have to be a professional job...

Comments (2)