This is the email from Jeffery Hahn~ Dept of Entomology

I have received a lot of e-mails over a story that has been circulating the internet this week concerning the potential of accidentally purchasing mulch that may be infested with Formosan termites. If you have not seen this story, this is how it reads:

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 Termite has a strong hold and most of the trees blown down were already badly infested. 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 avoid cheap mulch and know were it came from.

This story implies that it was written by someone at LSU, although no one there was responsible. However, it is true that Dennis Ring, an entomologist at LSU, did produce a news release last October about accidentally moving Formosan termites from hurricane ravished areas in Louisiana. In it, he warned people that they could spread Formosan termites around the state and other parts of the country by using railroad ties, reusing architectural wood, or other whole pieces of wood or lumber that were infested with Formosan termites. Interestingly, no where in the original article did he discuss mulch.

There are some elements of truth in this scenario. First Formosan termites are very aggressive and destructive termites. Although they are a type of subterranean termite, it is relatively common for these termites to produce aerial colonies and to infest damaged trees. In one instance, they have been transported accidentally in mulch. However, after that much of what is said is exaggerated and unnecessarily alarmist.

In conversations I have had with colleagues, it is recognized that no one knows for sure what would happen to termites in a tree that was chipped or mulched. However, it is universally agreed that it is highly unlikely that they would survive the process. Another factor is that termites do not survive well in mulch. Consider that as the internal temperature of a pile mulch increases, it can reach lethal temperatures that would kill termites as well as other insects. Also, Formosan termites are not tolerant of cold temperatures. They are not known to infest areas further north than 35o N latitude. Minnesota should be well beyond their reach.

Another mitigating factor is that Louisiana imposed a quarantine in several hurricane-damaged parishes. The quarantine specifically addresses the concern about Formosan termite-infested wood products being shipped to new areas. According to Dr. Gregg Henderson, research entomologist and termite expert from LSU, all yard debris and dead trees are being burned or shipped to a large local landfill near New Orleans. It seems unlikely that a major home improvement store like a WalMart or Lowe's would come into possession of such mulch as it would have to purchase it illegally.

In summary, it isn't impossible that Formosan termites could be accidently transported in mulch to Minnesota but it is very unlikely

If you are interested in reading further information on this, check out these sources. The first is a Snopes article found here, http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/termites.asp. Mike Merchant, an urban entomologist at Texas A&M wrote the following article, http://citybugs.tamu.edu/IntheNews_Details.asp?ID_Key=425.

Please pass this information on to other MGs that may not be on the listserve as this could generate a considerable amount of questions from the public.

Jeff Hahn

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Jeffrey Hahn
1980 Folwell Ave 612-624-4977
Dept. of Entomology 612-625-5299 fax
University of Minnesota hahnx002@umn.edu
St. Paul, MN 55108

visit the Yard and Garden Line:
http://www3.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/

What an exceptional article! Thanks so much for the info! I looked into the soil and mulch forum and searched for Katrina and mulch and came up with a post from last September of a barren field quickly covered with mulch up to two stories tall from Katrina downed trees. But no more info than that.
Thanks again!
Julie

I guess I would also be concerned about possible toxic waste contamination.

Lynn

The termite story is a hoax. Just another email that you should "send all your friends" so they can send it to all their friends and so on and so on and so on...

Here is a link that might be useful: internet hoax

Found this site below. The third paragraph from the bottom was rather interesting from my perspective.

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Legends - Formosan termites