I was wondering if anyone in the Piedmont area of NC has found a cocoa shell mulch distributor. We are eagerly looking to find some. We just noticed some termites around the yard and we are currently using hardwood mulch which we now want to get rid of. I just cannot stand the look of pine needles and this is a very good alternative as it gets darker with age and is long lasting from what I hear. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I just read a review of a book on Garden Myths which had a section on common un-truths spread throughout the gardening world and one of them was about termites and wood chip mulch. I didn't pay attention to the fine details because I was looking for something else but it seems that they said you might see termites traveling through mulch but that the species of termites that invade houses are not attracted to rotting wood or the types of chemical cues that wood chip mulch give off.

Concern: Wood chips could be a fire hazard.
Evidence: Coarse textured organic mulches, like wood chips, are the least flammable of the organic mulches. Fine textured mulches are more likely to combust, and rubber mulch is the most hazardous of all tested landscape mulches.

Concern: Wood chip mulches will tie up nitrogen and cause deficiencies in plants.
Evidence: Actually, many studies have demonstrated that woody mulch materials increase nutrient levels in soils and/or associated plant foliage. My hypothesis is that a zone of nitrogen deficiency exists at the mulch/soil interface, inhibiting weed seed germination while having no influence upon established plant roots below the soil surface. For this reason, it is inadvisable to use high C:N mulches in annual beds or vegetable gardens where the plants of interest do not have deep, extensive root systems.

Concern: Woody mulches will attract termites, carpenter ants, and other pests.
Evidence: Many wood-based mulches are not attractive to pest insects but are actually insect repellent. For instance, cedar (Thuja) species produce thujone, which repels clothes moths, cockroaches, termites, carpet beetles, Argentine ants, and odorous house ants. In general, termites prefer higher nutrient woody materials such as cardboard rather than wood chips.

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott
Associate Professor and Extension Urban Horticulturist
WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center
7612 Pioneer Way E Puyallup, WA 98371

hmm- cardboard. And i use cardboard under beds sometimes, so that may be what pulled them in. Very interesting. I don't use cedar, so that's a non issue for me. Still, there must be something that attracts them into potting soil, esp mixed with bark fines, 'cause i've seen them plenty of times. Perhaps something that partly broken down and easy to digest like the cellulose rich cardboard?

I'd always heard that sawdust, or really fresh wood chips tie up nutrients, specifically nitrogen, but then release them in turn as they age out. I know it seems like if i spread too fresh of woody mulch that it seems to slow everything down for a while, then the next season stuff goes nuts. Not so sure that that's opposite of what she's saying.

There are numerous species of termites with new ones being discovered and introduced every year. Maybe what shows up in potting soil is a different type of termite than what eats a house.

I have been spreading a thinnish layer of well composted horse manure under my mulch this past few rounds and it seems to be working better. When i noticed that effect was a few years back. Will keep that in mind for the future.

I wondered if there weren't different types of termites. Good to know.

You'll try it one year and find the cost and the difficulty finding it will discourage future purchases.

I'm interested to hear that I, apparently, didn't miss out on much.

Mike in SC