Spray painting your old mulch? What will they think of next?

You can get disease/bug invasion from any wood that you buy, including bagged mulch from landscaping companies. Many of our neighbors had termite infestations a few years ago, somehow we escaped. We had several different exterminators come to inspect our house but none found any evidence of termites. But many of our neighbors were advised by their bug companies to remove any unnecessary wood like lanscape timbers, railroad ties from landscaping and to avoid wood mulch. They said if you insist on using it, bagged mulch probably is less risky than bulk mulch and never spread the mulch too close to the foundation of the house.

Karen

I got mine from a tree trimming guy, and from our city. Never had a problem with either bugs or nitrogen loss. Here is a link to my newly built lasagna bed from last year.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/wisconsin/msg0415063014489.html

Everything grew great, with no synthetic fertilizer.

Lee

For some reason I just assumed commercial bags of mulch was "clean."

Isn't that spray paint for mulch crazy? I wish they had purple.

Lee, that bed is GORGEOUS. I love seeing its evolution, really spectacular.

Thanks!! Hopefully this year is even better. I plan on adding more woodchips from our city, since the ones from last year have decomposed quite a bit. I do occaisonally? throw some starbucks coffee grounds right on top of them to help with nitrogen. Also when I fertilize the yard with soybean meal and alfalfa pellets, I also do the flower beds. Great thing using organic fertilizer, you can spread it anywhere and everywhere!!

Lee

If you provide an environment they like insects of all kinds will show up, whether you have wood chips, shredded leaves, rocks, or anything else, so it is not the material is not what they come in it is the environment you make that attracts them.
Centipedes, millipedes, sowbugs, pill bugs, and many others are digesters of organic matter so if you put organic matter down they will come and there is no cause of concern about them being there. They are only a problem with people that do not understand what nature is and does and how nature works. People that want a bugless world, which if that happens means the end of us.

I can say that we do have centipedes in IL. I wish we didn't.

There is the possibility of spreading disease and bugs through wood chips. But the possibility exists no matter where the mulch comes from.

From an organic perspective, we strive to make our soil and plants as healthy as possible so that when a pest appears the plants are healthy enough to resist disease and the soil has a diverse enough microherd to keep any one pest from dominating.

"I can say that we do have centipedes in IL. I wish we didn't."

I didn't know we had lizards in IL either until one ran through the house. My DH thought he was seeing things until we found it dead a few days later. It had a little stab mark in its chest, so obviously one of the pets got it. :(

For a year we thought it had to be someone's escaped pets. Lizards in Illinois? Then they were rehabbing a 100-year-old house up the hill and found the foundation area just full of them. LOL, I still remember the screams of grown men. They estimated tens of thousands. (I have no idea how correct that is)

Kimmsr, your paragraph ought to be sent to every gardener, every spring as a reminder. Bugs are just a part of it all.

My neighbor found a snake the other day and I'm pretty sure she's blaming me and all of my gardening. She was very upset. I said "Well, maybe that's why I've yet to see a rodent around here. Hope he keeps up the good work."

I got the dirtiest look. LOL.

The Ohio DNR is making a big push for awareness for the Emerald Ash Borer. They are running ads about not transporting firewood very far, and to use and buy locally. I've always wondered about this when it comes to bagged mulch. I'd rather deal with local bulk mulch and the bugs that are already here, rather than risk importing a non native species.

Wood from the electric company would potentially be the worst because they cut diseased wood with no thought of quarantine. Google Âdisease from mulch and you will find a general agreement that a long, hot composting period lessens your risk. Then you have to decide the risk/rewards in your case.

The "safe" answer is: know what pests are in the area your wood chips are coming from and whether those pests would be a problem if they landed on your property. Of course, no one knows all of this with certainty so you have to make a judgment call.
I use lots of wood chips but almost all have come from on site so nothing new would be getting introduced. I did get a load or two from outside but had no problems. I also tend to not get to my wood chips until the pile is at least several months if not a year or more old. Maybe that has helped? I don't worry about this much but if the nasty beetles that just showed up in Staten Island and previously in Manhattan(a mere few counties away) make their way over here I will have to be more cautious in accepting other's wood chips in the future.
BTW, I've seen dyed wood mulch in many improbable colors so purple is not out of the question.