Termite issue aside, if the DW says you can't use it, then you can't use it and I suspect every married man on this forum is nodding his head right now. There is no way you want to tempt the wrath of whatever from high atop the thing and disobey She That Shall Be Obeyed.

Lloyd

P.S. Seriously? I don't have an answer, I don't think we have termites up here.

Lloyd I know what you are saying about SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed). ;-)

I butchered that acronym pretty bad didn't I? My heart was in the right place though.

I hope for my sake DW doesn't look into this thread or else I'll have to write it 100 times on the blackboard. :-(

Lloyd

wilderness, This is just a personal observation on my part, I have had horrible problems with termites in my house and along the underside of a stack of firewood (which I got rid of) I had the house treated and so far for the last 6 or 7 years they have not returned, I use wood mulch and I dig around alot in it and have not found one termite. I think with the constant watering and fertilizing they don`t like all that moving around and don`t set up house. but that is just my personal experience. Deanna

Last year I scored a truckload of chips from a tree trimming service, and one of my neighbors thoughtfully stopped on his way by to mention that it shouldn't be used near the house, it's not treated like the stuff that can be bought. Being slightly cynical I guess, I figured if the hardware store I normally bought bulk mulch from had treated it they'd have made a big deal out of it as a selling point. So I used the free stuff pretty much everywhere.

You reminded me of that though, so I did a quick search, the included link suggests that the stuff landscapers sell isn't treated either. My only concern was if the soft wood I got for free smelled tastier to pests than the hardwood barks that are supposed to be in bulk wood mulch. But again, I think what I get is probably mostly colored scrap lumber anyway.

Also, I live in a rural area so we have a contract with an exterminator that checks regularly - I don't know if my wife would have been as keen on the free mulch otherwise.

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Wood' This Mulch Attract Termites?

I live in an area that has termites and just don't use wood chips in the beds nearest the house. I try to keep it 3-4 feet away. I mean there are trees here anyway and always some degree of dead wood. I would be more worried about stacks of firewood on the ground that cultivated beds. Just my opinion though.

The admonition to not mulch with wood chips near your house comes from the discovery that termites have been found in some wood chip mulches. Termites like, and need, a moist environment such as that created by wood chip mulches and cannot exist in dry environments, so that really was a "duh" discovery. Does the presence of termites in your wood chip mulches mean you will have termites in your wood framing? Not necesarily, but because most people do not grasp that it is easy to use paranoia to scare people with that concept.
Termites, like ants, are a part of out environment, more common and more evident in some places than in others. Even if you never see one if the wood in your area of the world eventually "disappears" it is most likely because termites have helped chew that wood up. As so well put by Mike McGrath worry not about this issue.

She That Shall Be Obeyed....If only it were that easy!

I use wood mulch close to the house but we have a protection plan with a company that has termite traps in the ground all around our house. I'll have to ask him about this the next time he stops. He's never said anything.

Val

If termites like moist wood pieces, then they can happily eat on my mulch and break it down. As long as you don't have the mulch touching the wood siding on your house, then you don't have to worry about it. Termites are not going to bypass the concrete slab to eat up your siding unless your siding is already breaking down. Keep your house in good repair and you won't have anything to worry about.

Termites break down fallen trees & such, & in this area, I'd guess they're in everybody's yard.

You don't need to keep wood 100' away from your house, just don't pile it up against wood walls & don't cover the weep holes in brick walls.

I use maple shavings in my beds next to my house. But I make sure that the beds are not higher than my slab. You never want you landscaping to block weep holes or in anyway encourage water toward your house, especially down here in Houston. As long as you can visibly inspect your slab around the entire house you can see if termites are building tunnels up to get in your house. On a pier and beam house it is basically the same, make sure you can see concrete above the flower beds and below the siding inspect for termite tunnels. The fun part of pier and beam is inspecting the interior of the beams...