[Matt Kulp]

I have been getting emails from every property manager that we take care of about this in the past 2 weeks. If that wasn't bad enough, the residential clients have started to call. This email has been going out to everybody around here.

I have had about 20-25 calls already, and have had to explain to the people that our mulch is made locally. Has anybody received this or know if it is legit? Just curious.

[Matt Kulp]

Sorry, Here is the email!







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.

[agla]

It is total bunk. There is a prblem with termites in New Orleans, but there are lots of reason why it is not a national problem in mulch. There are tons of websites that have better info describing this as a hoax.

[VoodooChile]

I heard UW-Madison entomologist Dr. Phil Pelliteri address this concern today on Wisconsin Public Radio.

It's bunk because:1) there's is a quarantine in effect, so much of the wood waste is being buried, or burned 2) it is thought that Formosan termites would not withstand the chipping process, 3) bagged mulch typically reaches 130 degrees Fahrenheit, cooking any termite larvae that withstood chipping, and 4) many areas of the country are simply too cold for this tropical pest to overwinter.

We've had one caretaker express this concern, no one else. Most of our mulch is produced from local timber waste, so it's not an issue, even if it was.

Having battled termites at my Ma's in Maryland these past few weeks, I can testify to the damage being tremendous, but chemical controls do exist.

[Lanelle]

Sorry, but the termite scare is just an internet urban legend. This is being debunked in many places including trade magazines. The following is what I received from my Extension Agent and the VNLA:

Here are the facts:



· As for the possible infestation of mulch with Formosan Subterranean Termites, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry has quarantines in 12 infested parishes (counties). No wood or cellulose materials may be moved out of the quarantine areas without approval from state inspectors, including all materials from Katrina clean-up efforts.


The Mulch & Soil Council (MSC) has been working with the industry, government agencies and major retailers to create product certification standards for both mulch and soil. One of the conditions of certification is that no treated wood from construction and demolition (C&D) can be ground for use as mulch. Thus, mixed wood from the hurricane cleanup would not be allowed in any MSC Certified mulch



· Louisiana State University termite expert Dr. Dennis Ring explained that this termite was introduced into this country after World War II; it has been around for more than 50 years. The Formosan Subterranean Termite prefers a moist environment at approximately 57°F (14°C). According to experts, the practical survivability of a soft-bodied insect withstanding the violent environment inside the mulch grinding process or the high temperatures (130°F – 160°F) of mulch packages and pallet stacks is extremely unlikely.



· Dr. William Fonteno (of North Carolina State University and program director for the Mulch & Soil Council Product Certification Program) inspected over 500 bags of mulch and soil products taken from retail stores in 2005. No products inspected from anywhere in the country had any live termite presence—not a single bag.



For More information please visit these websites:



The MSC press release can be found at the following URL:
http://www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org/...essrelease.html

Multiple websites have begun providing information debunking the widely circulated Internet message. Here are a few resources you may wish to

From the National Plant Board:
http://www.nationalplantboard.org/la_mulch.html

From Snopes.com Rumor Website:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/termites.asp

From Texas Nursery & Landscape Assn:
http://www.tnlaonline.org/#merchant

From Texas A&M Extension:
http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/st...TO/Mar0306a.htm

From Louisiana State University:
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/envir...llow
.htm

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/envir...na+and+Rita.htm

From Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry:
http://www.ldaf.state.la.us/aboutld...ease.asp?id=542

From Chron.com media tracker:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3700489.html

[PSUscaper]

My thoughts are that, with the cost of fuel now, even if they are 'giving it away', the cost to truck it any distance and sell it can't be too economical, so outside of a minimal radius, I can't see mulch being shipped all over the country to cause any problems.

[Matt Kulp]

Thanks everybody for the info, atleast now I have something to fire back with.

[pineapple]

You can look up these emails very quickly at the snopes site to see it they are legit.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/termites.asp