The house is that easy for termites to eat? (it was built in 74.) Yes, termites can devour a house fairly quickly. You should have a yearly termite inspection and treatment if necessary. Prevention treatments are common, and necessary in some places. Hard to be more specific without knowing where you are. I wonder what would happen if I got a shovel and started removing that safety turf? You would be doing yourself and your bushes a favor. You would also make it possible to add new plants to that area if you would like to. Suppose I replaced it with some topsoil and real mulch? Yes!!! Should i leave the gray weed sheets? Absolutely not. I spose I could leave a little of the safety turf around the trunks of the bushes where I can't reach, and maybe close to the house. You should be able to get to those spots with a rake to get all of the rubber stuff. Just to stop those termites, y'know. I think this mis-info happened through this thought process... Termites eat wood houses. Mulch is wood. Mulch shouldn't be placed up against a house. Termites don't eat rubber. Therefore, rubber mulch stops termites. This is all good but it's that last leap that's wrong. If termites want to eat your house, they'll happily crawl across the rubber mulch to get there, whistling a hungry tune as they go... Does anyone have experience removing this stuff? Rubber mulch, no. Weed fabric and plastic, yes. Ugh. Nasty job removing it but it's the only way to reclaim your space. Even the most ordinary of shrubs needs moisture and organic material. This plastic and rubber stuff is not offering anything beneficial for your planting bed, and is blocking at least some of the water. Real mulch decomposes over time, replenishing nutrients in the soil, and should be renewed on top (not replaced) occasionally. As far as disposal... I need a parking space at the front of the lawn, I'll use it for that. Without knowing where you are, what your soil is like, it's hard to comment specifically on this. What I can imagine, though, is putting this stuff down, and then grass starts growing up in it. Then you want to mow over it, and either the rubber is too high, and/or you end up sending chunks of it flying all over the place. If your soil is mostly clay, parking on it without a thick layer of rocks probably won't work, long-term. If your soil is mostly sand, you should be able to just start parking where you want and the grass will die in the 2 tire tracks, and sand will rise to the top so it's not muddy. An added surface is not necessary.

Hi Here's my two cents lol Would have to agree with the others .All mulches are only temporaryy anyway. While they do slow it down they certainly won't stop weeds same as edgings. The best compromise is organic mulch have the same experience as Coffeemom except in my case marble chips. There is no way to clean those suckers off and grass loves it. No raking it up either if you change your mind. If you go for rocks would suggest either large ones or light weight such as lava rock. You'll still have the weed problem but at least kids can't pick it up and throw it lol. Okay they still can but takes a LARGE kid and they don't skip accross your pond . I put pea gravel in my aviary and between the constant fertilizer and good drainage I have a fantastic crop of wild morning glory and wedelia. MUST be pulled out one at a time I countered that with a layer of play sand . I can actually see my birds and so far no cactus lol gary

Melissa, No, the Roundup is for the ignoramus landscape workers who keep carelessly breaking my fencing, not the weeds, LOL. The hosta garden under the tree has the pretty brown lawn edging set into a trench around it. Then the Adirondack fencing right out side of that (any ideas on how to get the stray bits of grass growing between the 2 to go away?). Then I will dig the moat immediately outside the Adir. fencing. My favorite nursery (oh man, you would DROOL over the flowers they already have out and the gorgeous trees, bushes and shrubs out back in their "secret garden") told me that I do not need plastic lawn edging on the side of the moat away from the Adir. fencing, just cut the trench and line it with the lawn fabric. And then fill the moat with 3/4" gravel, not pea gravel. I am wondering if I need to pour some Round-Up in the moat or would it infiltrate and hurt the hosta garden. I am also FURIOUS, just furious, that I ordered some additional faux-stone fencing from Amazon (coming from Grady Hardware in MN) and that Grady Hardware took their sweet good time about shipping the fencing. First I was told it would arrive between Tuesday and Friday of this week, which would be perfect so I could install it around the Neighbor's Plot so that I could till the soil in there without it pouring out of the Plot right onto the lawn. Now I'm told its new estimated arrival time is this Saturday. If it doesn't arrive Saturday, then I can't do the tilling in the N.P. this Sunday, and the hostas and heuchies for that plot will be arriving during the week without a place to plant them yet. I will use the time instead to dig the moat around my own garden plot and the hosta garden under the tree. Grrr!

Really ghostlyvision it decomposed? I know there is some rubber that breaks down in sunlight. I would not describe this as decomposing..but will have to take your word for it, as I have never SEEN it. DH works for a rubber factory. The mats left behind from the manufacturing process make great garage rugs. Tough rubber tips to clean shoes on. He has to be careful which he brings home..or we will have ooze stuck to the garage floor he tells me. Curiously just yesterday the national news did a story on playgrounds with tire mulch. Toxic they fear. I am all for recycling but not chemical, plastic,rubber in/on the ground as stated by me and carol and all those who agreed this stuff does NOTHING for the ground, ground water, plants who want to grow there.