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Afraid of Termites and Carpenter Ants in Hugelkultur Beds

 
Posts: 32
Location: Oregon
2
cat urban woodworking
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Ok, so, having already partially dug my bed, I just had the terrifying thought, "What if I get termites?"

Here's my situation, I live in a small town, right in town. My yard is moderately sized for an urban lot. I live in Oregon, on the Cascades, so it's fairly wet in winter/spring and dry summer/fall. The bed is pretty big. 8 x 30 ft. And I have some pretty think logs in there (they're pine, some are really decomposed, others are only 6 mo old).

I have heard carpenter ants are an issue here, and Im assuming I need to be careful of termites as well. I'm really starting to freak right now. I have no idea how risky this really is. Recently we had to cut down some giant invasive sumac trees, and their roots are still in the ground too, not to mention the stumps.

I do have a healthy vole (or something) population that is always making little mounds in the yard. Will they balance the potential problem?

Anyways, very scared. I have this sick feeling I'm just about to make a big mistake.

Oh, and did I mention that I have a PILLAR FOUNDATION? Great.
 
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Location: Central Texas USA Latitude 30 Zone 8
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The way I figure it, there are already loads of termites and carpenter ants out there.  My entire kitchen garden is buried wood, and it's only about a dozen feet from my house.  I'm not worried about attracting more termites and carpenter ants than are already around anyway.  
 
Posts: 102
Location: Friday Harbor, WA
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hugelkultur chicken food preservation
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Yeah, we have so dang many termites in this region...what will it hurt? If you're really concerned, could you get a turkey or a pair of geese to live in the garden? They'd love to eat termites and ants!
 
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