Termites in Compost
 

Hello,

I have a compost bin, with a lot of black gold brewing in it with
worms, beetles, centipedes, millipedes and now termites. I need help
figuring out how to get rid of them. Obviously they are very happy in
the bin. I tried turning it over many times, in hopes of finding the
queen, but no luck.

How can I get rid of them without poisons? I don't want to kill all
the beneficial stuff in there, just the termites.

Thanks,

K

Termites in Compost
 

k_pip_k wrote:
Hello,

I have a compost bin, with a lot of black gold brewing in it with
worms, beetles, centipedes, millipedes and now termites. I need help
figuring out how to get rid of them. Obviously they are very happy in
the bin. I tried turning it over many times, in hopes of finding the
queen, but no luck.

How can I get rid of them without poisons? I don't want to kill all
the beneficial stuff in there, just the termites.

Thanks,

K

The nest will be under ground deeper than the frost line but above the
water table and may be many feet away from the compost pile. Termites
are part of the process breaking down the materials in the mulch so
unless the pile is next to the house you can ignore them. If you wanted
to, create a barrier with plastic sheets and that will slow them down
until a break in the plastic occurs.

Lar

---
to email get rid of the BUGS

Termites in Compost
 

"Lar" wrote in message
...
k_pip_k wrote:
Hello,

I have a compost bin, with a lot of black gold brewing in it with
worms, beetles, centipedes, millipedes and now termites. I need help
figuring out how to get rid of them. Obviously they are very happy in
the bin. I tried turning it over many times, in hopes of finding the
queen, but no luck.

How can I get rid of them without poisons? I don't want to kill all
the beneficial stuff in there, just the termites.

Thanks,

K

The nest will be under ground deeper than the frost line but above the
water table and may be many feet away from the compost pile. Termites
are part of the process breaking down the materials in the mulch so
unless the pile is next to the house you can ignore them.

indeed, unless they pose a problem to trees or buildings around the compost
bin just leave them to do a job on your compost for you.

rob

Termites in Compost
 

g'day ken,

i agree with rob & lar, here so long as you ahve your termite barriere
properly maintained around your home and out buildings there is
nothing much that you should/could do to keep termites out of any part
of our gardening project.

and actually disturbing them could make them move onto greener
pastures so to speak, that could be your home. not all subterrainian
temites are pests to the home, and the main nest could very well be
hundreds of meters away from your compost pile.



On 7 Apr 2007 13:59:36 -0700, "k_pip_k" wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

Termites in Compost
 

I may be wrong, but a exterminator once told me if you transfer the compost
to another area that the termites will not survive the trip. They have to
travel underground.


Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

"k_pip_k" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

I have a compost bin, with a lot of black gold brewing in it with
worms, beetles, centipedes, millipedes and now termites. I need help
figuring out how to get rid of them. Obviously they are very happy in
the bin. I tried turning it over many times, in hopes of finding the
queen, but no luck.

How can I get rid of them without poisons? I don't want to kill all
the beneficial stuff in there, just the termites.

Thanks,

K

Termites in Compost
 

symplastless wrote:

I may be wrong, but a exterminator once told me if you transfer the compost
to another area that the termites will not survive the trip. They have to
travel underground.



A mass of feeding termites will be made up of various stages of young
termites that do the actual eating, soldier termites to guard in case
area is attacked and under developed secondary reproductives, looking
for a free meal.
If a mass of these groups are relocated and there is moisture to be
found the secondaries may develop to the new colonies queen/king and
continue on as a new colony.

Lar