I live in the heart of heavy termite country. We don't see termites going for mulch in our landscape beds. It doesn't attract them. It really isn't an issue, at all. Relax.

That said, any mulch that rises up the side of your foundation can hide their tunnels that rise from the soil along the side of your house. Regular inspections are a good idea regardless of what mulch type you use.

Since you're in NC you should have steady access to pine straw.

That said...your insurance company (or your own sense of risk) may not enjoy huge piles of pine straw against your house. Many apartment complexes won't do pine straw for against/near building mulching for that reason. Fwiw, many insurance companies aren't rolling around clients houses looking for risk involving pine straw...but is it a bit more common with apartment owners where a fire can mean huge payoffs for a quick spreading fire.

Rubber mulch is neat...until it's a dry sunny day and it starts to gas off that "what smells like a tire fire?" smell. If you go that route try to find some good suggestions from those in your area who have a good experience with the brand/type they bought. There's a lot of variability in quality in rubber mulches.

No mulching means lots of weeds and more watering in times of drought (which hits most of NC every few years).

*shrug*

Fwiw, most wood/bark mulches are unattractive to termites unless the wood/bark is consistently moist. They're far more attracted to moist wood sources.

Cypress,Redwood,and Eastern Red Cedar mulch will not harbor termites. A lot depends on your soil,home construction and more important,wherther your home has been treated. Stone/gravel is expensive but lasts longer than wood.

Why mulch the soil?
1. Mulch will help conserve soil moisture.
2.Mulch can aid "weed" suppression.
3. Mulch can aid in keeping soil temperatures cooler.
4. Mulches, vegetative materials, can help add needed organic matter to the soil.
Research has shown that mulches of stone material can raise the temperatures around plants causing them to transpire more moisture and stone materials do not add any organic matter to the soil.
Rubber, shredded tires, was once considered a hazardous material and where tire dumps were found large amounts of soil under them with higher then normal levels of things such as Cadmium, Lead, and other heavy metals were removed to a hazardous waste dump.

After reading into this some more - a lot more - it seems like this debate has been raging on forever - even on this forum. I will share my insights for anyone else who wants to research this topic.

Most mulching options have issues. Rubber mulch gases/smells in the summer and may be toxic [5], [9], pine straw is a fire hazard in dry conditions [6], and wood mulch is, well, made of wood.

Further, the type of mulch used is irrelevant because the main issue is the moisture laden soil environment created by the cover of the mulch, and not the mulch itself being a food source. In fact, gravel mulch has been shown to have a higher sustained activity of termites [1].

Selling rubber mulch as termite resistant, seems to be a marketing ploy to sell an otherwise unappealing product (shredded tires).

Wood mulch does have the added disadvantage of possibly attracting wood destroying insects, possibly transporting wood destroying insects within the mulch, and possibly being a food source for wood destroying insects [1], [2], [3], [4].

Also, it is worth mentioning, that most mulches are flammable - not just pine straw. This is not entirely obvious. Homes have caught on fire, with the possible cause being listed as wood mulch [7].

After this exercise, I for one will not partake in the yearly ritual of systematically introducing freshly shredded wood (from who knows where) into my yard, commonly known as the practice of mulching.

There is no doubt that mulch is great for plant beds. This is well documented and not up for debate. Also, we have all become used (hooked) to liking the look and color of a freshly mulched yard - but it seems like a perfect recipe for importing all sorts of critters from all over the country into your yard. I won't start on shotgun fungus, but that to, is related [8].

If I had to hazard a guess, pest control companies are indirectly benefiting from mulching. They may or may not know this. I further wonder if there are, or should be laws around the transportation of mulch across state borders - since this would be a perfect way of introducing previously absent critters to new areas.

The big mulch lobby (landscapers, mulch providers, exterminators, insecticide producing companies) probably do not want you to read this thread :-)

Live and learn, I guess.

References below.

[1] http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2001/5-4-2001/mulch.html
[2] http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/termites/garden.htm
[3] http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr075
[4] http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0615034224843.html
[5] http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0617582414596.html
[6] http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/27/409113/pine-straw-targeted-after-fires.html
[7] http://www.hortmag.com/featured/mulch-on-fire
[8] http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3304.html
[9] http://www.natureswayresources.com/resource/infosheets/rubber.html
[10] http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/termites/mulch.htm
[11] http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0407505521780.html

I have used wood chips - plain old wood chips from the tree companies - right up against my house for over 25 years. I have never had any kind of insect radically increase in number in or near the wood chips, nor have we ever had termites (knock on wood). The wood chips decompose so quickly that any termite would have no place to build a nest within a year. Most bugs that like wood, moist or dry, are much more interested in the firewood, which we keep far away from any structure.

Why even grow plants at all around your house? The harbor insects and all kinds of critters. Plus they take up water. Then you have all the drainage issues with watering. Better not do that, you could cause rot in your cripple wall. Yes, I think your best bet is to keep the entire thing a big giant dirt patch with astro turf over it. Nothing likes that and everything will be super nice and dry.

From a horticulturist who has no horse in this race other than that - horticulture - the benefits of mulching far outweigh any potential undesirable side effects.

If applied properly and maintained correctly, wood-based mulches do not contribute to insect proliferation. In many cases they deter insects due to the turpins and volatile oils they contain. But not all wood mulches are created equal and the key is in proper application and maintenance. Like most issues with homeownership and landscaping, you can't just dump and forget.

rouble - you did your homework well. From my perspective, the benefits of mulching outweigh the risks. But your situation is likely different. I have extensive foundation plantings that I value. I live on very expansive clay soil, where we strive to maintain even moisture around the foundation perimiter to preclude uneven foundation movement (foundation leveling is an industry here). We have numerous highly invasive weeds that will take over any barren area. We have fire ants that love barren soil. Our native clay has very little OM, and that which it may have will be quickly lost in our subtropical climate - the only way to keep what we've built up is regular mulching with something organic.

That's about me and my situation. Everyone needs to make their own decision about what best suits them. An adjacent neighbor on one side takes the no mulch, minimum care approach. In 8 years he has lost ~$10k of landscape, and he's unbothered by it.

Nil13 and gardengal make valid points plus I stand-by my origional observation "A lot depends on soil,home construction and more important,wherther your home has been treated". It is certainly a conversation that needs to be had so let the debate continue.
Assuming the OP is most interested in the subject as a whole than solving a spicific problem he/she encountered,the possiabilities are many. If I had an older home where composit or wood siding is at or near ground level,I would settle for groundcover plants at the foundation. Maintaining near consistant moisture can be far more important to foundation maintainance on certain soils than beauty. Insectiside is a dirty word around organic gardeners but bait stations can be imo a safe compromise and quite effective with or without mulch. I would be keenly interested in research on how termite bait effects other critters living in and near the soil. We also need to recconize that there are more than one kind of termite but I believe it safe to say efforts directed at Formosans will deter all others. From my observations around the farm where many opertunities exist,termites are less attracted to decaying wood than the moisture it retains in and around itself.
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In the field, termites were detected with equal frequency beneath mulches of eucalyptus, hardwood, pine bark and pea gravel and bare, uncovered soil. Sustained activity over time was significantly higher beneath gravel mulch. The hospitable conditions beneath mulch likely accounted for the termite foraging activity. However, there is no evidence that the moist conditions attract termite foragers from the surrounding landscape. Rather, when the termites wander into a suitable habitat they are more likely to remain and feed in that area.
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These people offer nothing to depend on.

mulch has heaps of advantages, we don't mulch for appearance we mulch for purpose, we sue green type mulches currently raked slashed paddock grass (it's free to get), our next is sugar cane mulch and when it is available spoilt hay mulch; lucerne or grass.

as for termites only now in one spot did we see some in teh vege' garden 20 meters away from slab steel house, nothing in house for termites to eat.

pay a pest person to termite protect your house and don't worry about them, don't grow gardens or plants within 2 meters of house foundations, keep 1 meter clear zone around house that is paths to be 1 meter out. then maybe gardens.

be happy don't worry

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

Out in the wild and away from your house termites, ants, and most other insects are all part of Ma Natures recycling machine and are necessary so the waste products from the plants can be recycled and reused as plant food. If you have a planting bed next to your house foundation and you put a mulch down there you must have some kind of insect activity in that mulch so it can be converted in to something the plants growing there can use.
Have we become so disconnected from nature that we do not know what happens out there?

Most of my beds are jam packed with plants that there is no room for mulch. Living mulch!

Just as Ann Lovejoy wrote several years ago, "if you have "weeds" in your garden you do not have enough plants you desire".