The Sunshine State is a great place to live if you love gardening. With our tropical weather and nearly year round summer, it’s always growing season! And since we get plenty of sun, we can grow quite a large range of plants. And sometimes, to make sure those plants get their nutrients you’ll need compost! But unless you’re on a large chunk of land and can compost far away from your home, look out for termites in the compost!
If you’ve lived in Florida for any length of time, you probably know someone who’s been affected by termites. They’re one of the state’s costliest pests, and that’s exactly why we’ll be covering them today.
Termites in the Compost: Time to Panic?
Now, if you’re on a large piece of land and find these guys in your compost, it really isn’t a huge deal. Just keep the pile/bin/whatever your favorite method of composting is far from your home. The termites inside may actually help speed up the process of breaking down tough, wood material in the pile.
However, termites in the compost may leave your home at risk. The swarmers from your compost’s colony may fly out and find your home, leaving it vulnerable to infestation. For that reason, if you find termites in your compost and it’s anywhere near your home, you need to take action.
Preventing termites in the compost
To begin, any infestation is easier to prevent than to deal with post infestation. So consider creating your compost bin with materials that aren’t attractive to termites. For example, bricks or an old plastic garbage can both make excellent composting containers. And when you fill these up, avoid termite-attracting materials as much as possible. This means large, rotting chunks of natural wood or overly large sticks, wood chips, and mulch. Use the smallest bits of wood you can get, and run them through a wood chipper at least once before putting them in your pile. This will not only help that material break down more quickly, but wood chips are a lot less suitable home for a termite than say, a whole rotten log.
Also, consider easing up on wood and tree bark chips and mulch in the garden around your home for a while. At least until you’re sure the infestation is gone, and layer your mulch thinly on top of that. The thicker and higher your mulch beds, the more viable it is to a termite as a home. Turn your compost often as well. This may sound like a bit of a no brainer, but the more you flip and turn the compost the less chance ANYTHING has of living inside of it.
Dealing with Infested Compost
If your compost is already infested, there’s probably not much you can do. If you end up using the piece of compost that has a swarmer, princess, or queen in your garden you can end up encouraging a whole new colony to farm. The only way to be 100% sure that you have clean compost after finding termites in it is to chuck the whole load away. Sad, yes. Compost takes a long time and a lot of work to make. But it’s better than losing your house.
Though if you’re really desperate, there is still one thing you can try. Take your finished compost out and encourage predation on it. Remove any woody materials, be they sticks, branches, chips, or logs. And then scatter your compost in a thin layer in your yard, using a tarp would make it easier to keep it all together. After you have your compost scattered nice and thin over a broad surface area, leave it be and leave it out in the open. It may take a few days, but birds, possums, raccoons, and all sorts of animals will feast on the termites. Turn it a few times while it’s out there until you see the insects are all gone, and then re-compost that pile or age it for at least a month before using it around the home.
Tampa Termite Types
As I mentioned above, termites in the compost are no laughing matter down here in Florida. And in the wild, termites have their place and are great at helping wood decompose.
According to Termite Infestation Probability Zones (TIP Zones), Florida is in TIP Zone number 1, as well as the entire southeast. That means that in Tampa, the potential for termite damage is considered significant. In states like Florida, where termites are very active and widespread, you have to stay on top of some sort of termite prevention and control program. If you own a home in Florida and aren’t looking into protecting it from the termite, please do before it’s too late.
In Tampa, we have one of the worst species of termite around. The tropical rough-headed drywood termite is one of the most destructive species in the country. Tampa is on the short list of cities with a heavy population of this termite as well. There’s only one termite you’ll see more in Florida, and that’s the eastern subterranean termite.
Eastern Subterranean Termites
These termites live within the ground where they feed on organic materials. In homes or buildings, they prefer to live in walls, basements, crawl spaces, and other damp areas. As mentioned above, this is the most widely distributed among termite species and can be found in any state in the U.S. except for Alaska. These guys are not only just the likely termites in the compost, but if you’ve got termites, you probably have these guys.
Because the subterranean termite activity is usually hidden, it can easily go undetected. And by the time activity is noticed, extensive and expensive damage may already be done. That’s why it’s important to have the help of a trained professional who knows where to look for activity and what to look for. The second you believe you have a termite infestation, get in contact with a natural specialist as soon as possible.
