Posted on 03/27/2006 1:34:52 AM PST by Global2010
A friend sent this and I thought it was a good idea to pass this on. Subject: FW: very important, make sure you read this Mulch warning 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 Lowe's 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. http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/termites/
Is there any truth to it?
I have a way full plate and while we are all so ready to put out mulch and new seeds I thought after such a tough winter I should ask or share this e mail.
Sorry ahead of time if this is one of those scare tactics.
I hope I have a valid question and if this is a e scare mail then I respect the fact that someone will push the button and have the thread removed.
Thanks Global 2010
Snopes seems to think its false
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/termites.asp
But its a long article with some twists...
Here in Florida We should have more that enough of our own mulch. We don't need No Nagin Mulch! ! ! ! ! !
Notice there have been concerns in the past and their confirmation is from the Louisiana state govt - not unbiased.....
It's party mulch, dammit!
Local news in FL said it was bogus as of last week.
There has been a longstanding agricultural ban on many LA products including mulch.
I hit on the link and the my browser shut down. It is ok though as I don't have some of the power that Ya'll have with my internet hook up.
I will try again later.
Please feel free to post the snopes article. Thanks
Heck most of us who lived through all the wind storms in the PNW would know we have free mulch from the trees up here that had to be removed from the roads.
In the past you make a call and the county would dump the stuff off by the dump truck full.
It is interesting though to think with all the regulations State and Fed that some agency would have detected a termite or other possible contaminate in the product.
Heck if they can catch possible FDA safety hazards to an extreme ya would think....
Is it "chocolate" mulch?
Makes one wonder if in fact they truly are bagging up mulch if there is human DNA in it.
I wonder "now" where they are sending all the bulldozed debris to.
Shouldn't they be burning it?
Ah, the power of urban legends. It seems with our modern, information based society, these things are still believed so easily.
The local Saturday AM lawn and garden talk show guy was saying it's false the other day, too.
If nothing else, much of the cost of wood mulch is transporting it. They're darn sure not hauling that stuff all the way from LA, when it's readily available from sources much closer to home.
Agree!
Snopes says it's probably not true, however............
My husband works with a guy who grew up in that area who says he learned years ago from his grandmother never to buy bagged mulch, period. Bulk mulch creates heat that kills off insects and diseases, etc.
It's simply better for your plants and trees.
Mulch attracts termites no matter what. Think about it! What is mulch? It's dead plant material-the perfect food for termites! It's fine as long as you don't put it around your house...just put it around trees that are far from your dwelling and you'll be OK.
I received this e-mail from two people, and I've since heard it's an urban legend.
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