Landscaping around your home can be a perfect environment for termites. Once they find a habitat close to the home, they are likely to move inside. Fortunately, preventing termites when gardening is easy when you follow these tips.

Keep Bushes and Trees Trimmed

Termites follow any path they can to get in your home. Any branch or bush that touches your home is a safe bridge to enter. Keep all greenery and plant life a safe distance from your home. Trim branches, shrubs, vines, and bushes back at least three feet. This not only discourages termites but other pests like ants or mice.

Keep Termite Food Away from the Home

Just as you should keep any plant life from touching the sides of your home, you should do the same for termites’ food sources. These include firewood, wooden pallets, piles of dead leaves, piles of newspaper, cardboard boxes, and mulch.

Preventing Termites When Gardening: Mulch Tips

Using too much mulch or placing it too close to your home makes the ground soft and moist, making it easier for termites to tunnel through and find a path into your home. The University of Florida suggests that mulch stay at least one foot away from any part of your home, including a deck or porch. Mulch should be less than four inches deep. Gravel, pebbles, or rubber mulch are landscaping alternatives that don’t create termite-friendly conditions.

Remove Dead Stumps or Plants

It’s much easier for termites to tunnel into soft, moist wood than it is for them to tunnel into live or green wood. Check your yard for dead stumps, roots, or parts of old wooden posts or boards, especially around your home or outbuildings. Remove them to eliminate hospitable conditions for termites.

Preventing Termites When Gardening With a Termite Barrier

Suppose you had your home treated by a professional with a termite barrier. While this is a great preventative measure, it does not mean you can ignore these tips for preventing termites while gardening. You still have to make sure plants, mulch, and other woods around the yard are not providing favorable conditions for termites.

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