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02 Mar 06 - 10:25 PM (#1683867) Subject: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: JohnInKansas Termite Warning A new(?) concern associated with the Gulf Coast hurricanes. We have been informed by email from a family member in Oklahoma that warnings are being circulated regarding the use of "bargain priced" mulch during the coming season. Agriculture and Forestry authorities in several states apparently have issued bulletins warning that the large number of trees destroyed in the hurricane(s) have been converted to massive amounts of mulch, and is beginning to appear, or is expected soon to appear, on the open market for spring gardening at bargain prices. The difficulty is that the Gulf Coast area is significantly infested by the Formosan Termite, which is an imported species much more damaging and much more difficult to eradicate than domestic termites. The Formosan Termite is known to be capable of being spread in mulch, hence concern that the exporting of large quantities of mulch from the cleanup of the Gulf Coast hurricanes may result in significant spreading of this pest. An older info bulletin from Texas A&M, AgNews gives some general information on the Formosan critter. This article does not appear to have been updated to reflect the current concern. Additional information, including identification help, is at Texas A&M Dept of Entomology. At the first link above, the opinion is offered that many commercial exterminators refuse to attempt to treat for this pest, because of the extreme difficulty of eradication once an infestation occurs. It should also be noted that, unlike demestic subterannean termits that infest only "dead wood," this pest can attack living trees. Be very careful about buying mulch this spring, and be especially wary of any that is offered at "spectacular bargain" prices. The message we received indicated that the Gulf Coast mulch may be offered by major retailers such as Home Depot etc., although identification of any specific outlets at this point is pretty tentative. John |
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02 Mar 06 - 10:26 PM (#1683871) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Sorcha Oh shit! |
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02 Mar 06 - 10:28 PM (#1683873) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Janie Thanks for the heads-up, John. Janie |
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02 Mar 06 - 10:32 PM (#1683879) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Joe Offer I've wondered about that - and about what kind of diseases I'm buying with my firewood. -Joe Offer- |
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02 Mar 06 - 11:42 PM (#1683961) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: JohnInKansas I think the line that got my attention, in our *friend's email was the note that infested trees were of course the most heavily damaged. 't sounds reasonable. Some sort of decontamination might be possible, but would be extremely expensive for a "cut-rate" product; and any storage, even temporary, in infested areas would make it rather difficult to assure their wasn't reinfestation in storage or in transit. I haven't been able to determine how widely any new warnings have been issued, but the site that says it's been a confirmed problem at least since 2003 (the first TAMU link) makes the story we received pretty much credible. * friend = actually her relative, but on reasonably friendly terms. John |
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03 Mar 06 - 10:33 PM (#1684753) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: JohnInKansas Refresh for the weekenders |
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03 Mar 06 - 10:39 PM (#1684756) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Alba Thanks for the info John. Jude |
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04 Mar 06 - 12:55 PM (#1685106) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Beer Go to Snopes.com and find the below message I've pasted. Beer Formosan Termites Claim: E-mail warns that buying mulch from home improvement stores may spread the Formosan subterranean termite. Status: False. Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2006] 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. Origins: We've long realized that transporting people and goods (particularly plants and food crops) from one region to another can result in our also inadvertently carrying unseen little critters into areas where they are not normally found, and that unleashing bugs and other animals into new environments can have disastrous consequences. Free from predation, natural defenses, and other factors that may ordinarily keep them in check, these creatures can wreak havoc by preying on (or crowding out) other plants and animals. One such accidental transplantation occurred around the time of World War II, when the Formosan subterranean termite was introduced into the United States by ships that carried the species from China to U.S. coastal towns. This species of termite has since established itself throughout the southern United States (including Hawaii and southern California), where it poses a threat to trees and the timber industry, as well as just about anything — utility poles, homes, buildings, ships — constructed wholly or partially from wood. Back in October 2005, Louisiana State University's (LSU) Agricultural Center (AgCenter) issued a warning about the potential spread of Formosan subterranean termites into new areas from southern Lousiana through the re-use of wooden building materials taken from homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina and installed in new structures elsewhere. As the LSU AgCenter notes, termites can be spread through the movement of many different kinds of wood products, including mulch: This termite hitches a ride to new areas in infested cellulose. At the time of this writing, the number one method of spreading the Formosan subterranean termite is infested railroad ties. The second most important method of spreading the Formosan subterranean termite is infested utility poles. Other methods of spreading the termite include: wood from structures, lumber, pallets, landscape timbers, wood used in the oil industry, firewood, trees, woody plants, sawdust, mulch, wood in boats, potted plants, mobile homes, homes and paper. However, although particular scenario described in the message quoted at the head of this page might be possible, it isn't likely because the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry imposed a quarantine on several parishes back in October 2005 specifically to prevent the accidental movement of Formosan subterranean termite to other areas. According to that agency's Assistant Commissioner, the disposal of wood-based debris within those parishes is being monitored to ensure that the end results are not transported outside the quarantined area: All woody debris in the quarantined areas is going to an approved landfill within the designated quarantine area. There are a multitude of government (state and federal) agencies that are looking at this debris every day as it is deposited into these landfills. The contractors mulching and hauling the debris know the regulations and are abiding by them according to the quarantine requirements. If there is anyone with knowledge of debris moving out of a quarantine area, they should contact our 24-hour hotline at 225-925-3763. And the LSU AgCenter has since noted on their web site efforts that are underway "to prevent spread of Formosan subterranean termites in mulch from Louisiana following hurricanes Katrina and Rita": Efforts are under way to prevent the spread of Formosan subterranean termites in mulch from New Orleans and Louisiana following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is true that there is a lot of cellulose debris (wood, paper and their products) in Louisiana following these two hurricanes. Yes, Formosan subterranean termites are found in the parishes affected by the hurricanes and will get in mulch. However, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) in Louisiana imposed a quarantine for the Formosan subterranean termite on October 3, 2005, in Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes (the parishes affected by the hurricanes). Provisions of the quarantine imposed by the LDAF include: Movement of wood or cellulose material is prohibited unless either (1) it is fumigated or treated for Formosan subterranean termites and is approved for movement by the commissioner or his designee(s) or (2) written authorization is given by the commissioner or his designee(s) for the movement of untreated wood or cellulose material from the quarantined parishes. Temporary housing cannot be moved from the named parishes until written authorization is given by the commissioner or his designee(s). All architectural components (beams, doors and salvaged wood) cannot be sold or placed in any structure in any parish until the architectural components are fumigated or treated for Formosan subterranean termites. Additionally, it is strongly recommended and urged that all new construction and reconstruction of structures in the quarantined parishes use termite-resistant materials. Termite-resistant materials include pressure-treated wood (borates, ammonical copper quat or copper azole) or non-cellulose materials. The quarantine is in effect until it is rescinded by the commissioner of agriculture. If a waiver of a requirement or an authorization to carry out one of the prohibited acts is granted, it does not rescind or modify the quarantine. Entomologists we've contacted also generally have said they doubt that termites could survive the mulch shredding, packaging, and transportation (in shrink-wrapped bags that expose them to high temperatures with a limited air supply and limited moisture) process in the first place (and in any case, there are a number of mitigating factors that could halt the spread of Formosan subterranean termites transported to other areas, such as the fact that they are rarely found above 35° N latitude because the colder temperatures typical of higher latitudes prevent their eggs from hatching). |
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04 Mar 06 - 01:02 PM (#1685110) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Clinton Hammond All species invaded from somewhere... that's what life does.... |
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05 Mar 06 - 07:39 AM (#1685492) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Cats I'm glad i don't have to worry about termites here in Cornwall! My heart goes out to you. I'm very lucky. If I want anything to top dress or mulch with I pop round to me nexr door neighbour and I can have as much as I loike. When I first moved in and the soil had been under black plastic and starved for 4 years, he brought me a whole trailer load and deposited it exactly where it was needed. I'm so lucky to have an endless supply of very well rotted cow manure next door. By the way, I have daffodils out, helebores, crocus, iris, snowdrops and primroses. We had about 2 inches of snow this week and it was wonderful to see them peeping though it. |
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05 Mar 06 - 01:47 PM (#1685738) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: JohnInKansas Beer - I did check Snopes, but didn't find anything there. The Texas A&M sites that I linked do have a good bit of info on this pest, and did support the claim that they have been spread via mulch, hence the passing on of the info. The second site, at the Texas Entomology Dept shows the current status of spread - largely via shipment of wood products, through significant parts of Texas; and an Oklahoma Forestry bulletin reported concern, but no known presence yet (as of a year ago). The OK bulletin contained a warning about "using caution" with wood products coming from infested areas, but a general search didn't find any references to a current "dire warning." I'm a little surprised that my "pre-search" didn't find the Louisianna report, but what turns up in a search often depends more on how many people have looked at a piece than on how useful it is. The Snopes article gives some reassurance that there's no special hazard from the hurricane area, so it's probably safe to back off the alert to the level of existing advisories specific to one's own area and climate. At least this little flap made me aware that there is some concern in areas close to my own, from another pest I hadn't heard of. And the range of the Armadillo has spread nearly 200 miles northward in the past ten years or so, across the full N/S extent of my state -- global warming and all that... John |
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06 Mar 06 - 09:47 AM (#1686383) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: GUEST,DB I'm sure that, in the affected areas, the warning is mulch appreciated! Oh sorry, that was unforgiveable - it won't happen again, I promise! |
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06 Mar 06 - 10:01 AM (#1686386) Subject: RE: BS: Spring Garden Warning From: Sorcha I use grass clippings for mulch.... |