mulch against concrete block house?

Hello again, I've searched and searched I guess theres no solid answer. I'm in florida is mulch in the beds surrounding the house advisable or not? (the house is entirely surrounded by a 3 foot bed) I'm redoing the beds they have the riverrock, more expensive but no termites or treatment ever that I know of by the previous owners so maybe I should leave well enough alone and just replenish the rocks?

I like the looks of mulch better though and it is cheaper...so I'm open to opinions.

Thanks, shawn

Reply to
shawn
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Try mixing stones of differing sizes right through from 1/2 inch shingle to

6 inch pebbles/rocks. This will add interest and do the mulching job. Treated wood mulch, ask the vendor if it has been, may affect valuable insects. In the old British cottage garden dense planting has been used to hold back weeds and retain some moisture. Look around at the local wild flora, use cultivated varieties and plant very thickly. This will survive local conditions (if dry, wet, sea air etc.) and look good in the local environment. Neil

Reply to
Neil

In article , snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net says... :) I'm redoing the :) beds they have the riverrock, more expensive but no termites or :) treatment ever that I know of by the previous owners so maybe I should :) leave well enough alone and just replenish the rocks? :) :) :) Just don't build the mulch up high on the foundation. Try to keep at least 6 inches of the foundation clean for easy view of tubes.

Reply to
Lar

Termites are prevalent in my area, and the local building code requires

18" of concrete between ground and wood siding. I have mulch pretty much all around my house. So wood mulch around concrete is okay, as long as you don't have siding within easy reach of the mulch.
Reply to
Chelsea Christenson

Chelsea Christenson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@nospam.com:

yeah everything I run into assumes some type of siding material, my home is concrete block with real stucco, you dont really have exposed foundations like a traditional stick home.

The threat seems to be in florida subterrian which are attracted to moisture...then danger of getting up through cracks etc, HOW any termite treatment besides the original soil treatment when the house was built would work with this is beyond my comprehension, I would dare to say I dont believe it as chems sprayed on the stucco, gound cannot possibly soak inches and inches down then under the slab.

When I read up on it it says termites are attacted to moisture which rock & mulch both seemingly provide, its florida, everything is wet! everything molds during the rainy season.

Anyways noone in the neighborhood has had a problem & considering the previous owners didn't do anything around here for 10 years I think I'll just go with a natural mulch instead of rock this time.

thanks, shawn

Reply to
shawn

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