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Square Foot Gardening

Termites in raised bed...

15 years ago

Hi

I was planting eggplant in my raised bed today and I noticed termites in my bed. Should I be very concerned. This is my first time planting in raised bed. I used untreated pine to build my box. Do I need to do anything I am sorta freaking out....

Thanks

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Comments (4)

daves_girl
15 years ago
Are you certain they are termites? Could they be flying ants?

Kym
0
engineeredgarden
15 years ago
I have termites in my bed, too. The funny thing is - I saw an ant carrying one today. Gosh, I love those ants! Ha! My bed is made from cedar, and sure...it worries me a bit.

EG
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Termites need a cool, moist environment to live in so their nests will always be in the soil someplace that is cool and moist. In the south, especially around the gulf coast there will be 5 species, at last count of termites, some of which will eat wet wood, although most species only dine on dry wood. Termites are a whiteish or creamy color, except for those flying out to establish new colonies and they do not have a waist. Ants have the pinched waist, not termites, so if what you have does not have a waist and is creamy colored you may have termites in that bed, but most likely they will do little to no harm unless you have some dry wood for them to digest.
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Well, they're termites then - is there any sign of damage on any of the walnut shells? Otherwise, I'd think they were attracted to some sort of wood, maybe framing the raised bed? They sure do that here. There are termites, and then there are other termites, and the two species we have out here are probably not the ones you deal with there. I have termites around. I mulch heavily with pine bark, but they don't seem to touch that. Leave a piece of wood half-buried, or use untreated wood delineating a raised bed, or an old tree stump, and they show up within a year or two. Anyway, I don't think they do much damage to an annual garden - some species do attack the roots of some trees. I've got some now working on the roots of an old willow tree that blew down 10 years ago, and every now and again, I walk by where it used to be and the ground gives way to some foot deep sinkhole where they've eaten out the roots. This post was edited by david52 on Sat, May 31, 14 at 21:33
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There was a PBS show on termites in some country in Africa. They were in someone's home and eating the walls and roof. There was an older man who knew of a kind of ant who could get rid of the termites. They looked like fire ants only bigger and he said they were dangerous because they could go inside a person or animal and start eating it from the inside (that would be gross) but he knew how to talk to them. So he and a couple of boys went out to find these ants and they dumped a bag full into the termite caverns in the house. The ants really went after the termites even though the termites were bigger. It was both gross and interesting.
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You can explore whether boron-based products like Boracare are approved for such use. They are supposed to stay in the wood, without evaporation or leakage to the ground.
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gmreeves
15 years ago
I had termites in my beds. I was sitting on the deck when they all started hatching. Huge swarms of termites getting blown through the air. My termite guy was scheduled for the next day anyway for the yearly termite bond exam so I asked him. He said it wasn't anything to be concerned about but he would let his boss know to see if they wanted to come back out and spray. The next day they came out and sprayed just as a precaution. He said that I didn't need to worry because they weren't in my house and only in the wood by the garden. He said they are all over and we just don't know it. Still makes me nervous.
0
jeremyjs
15 years ago
The only time it's a real concern is if your bed is butted up against the house. Otherwise it's not really a concern. They will inhabit almost any non treated wood in contact with the ground and other than spraying chemicals or using chemical impregnated boards can't really be avoided. I figure so long as the wood lasts 5-6 years it's all good and relatively easy to replace when the time comes.
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