Termites are incredible creatures, capable of causing significant property damage to your home or business if you’re not careful. They also love palm trees and will happily eat through their trunks and branches in search of the delicious cellulose that makes up much of the plant structure. While palm tree stumps do attract termites, there’s no need to panic since there are many things you can do to prevent them from becoming a major problem on your property. By learning more about what attracts termites to palm tree stumps, we can find out how best to keep them away from our homes and landscaping.
Will Stump Grindings Attract Termites?
Avoiding a termite invasion is one of the main reasons why stump grinding is encouraged. But the question that most homeowners want to be answered is whether grinding solves their termite problems or if they have to worry about wood chippings attracting them too.
No, tree stump grindings do not attract termites. While they can create the perfect environment for termites –where the termites can get food and shelter –, they don’t have a unique scent or properties that make termites drawn to them. But if the termites find them, they will make a colony in the grindings.
Here is what you should know about stump grinding, termites, and your options.
Should I leave stump grindings?
No, you should not leave them. This is because piles of wood debris on your property can also make a property look unattractive. This is in addition to compromising the soil’s ability to support plant growth.
The grindings can also be useful. You can use them as mulch. You can compost them. And you can even use them on paths or as part of the beddings for your animals.
Therefore, removing them is something that is always advisable.
What can you do with leftover grindings?
Stump grinding is one of the quickest ways to get rid of a tree stump. Unfortunately, it usually leaves behind a lot of wood chips.
The following are the different ways in which you can handle them.
Use them as mulch for your garden
If the stump is disease-free, you can use the resulting wood chips as tree mulch.
To create mulch, start by collecting the wood chips. Remove any debris and grass in the collected pile. After you are done, take the mulch created and then spread it around your plants and your trees.
Several inches of wood chippings will help to increase the moisture retention capacity of soil around your plants. It will also help to regulate its temperature by preventing extreme fluctuations. And with time, as the grindings rot, it will enrich the soil.
All of this will go a long way towards improving the health of your plants.
Add them to your compost
If you are into composting, you can easily build your compost pile by adding the fresh wood chips to your compost pile. And in about 3 months, the wood chips will be ready for use as a fertilizer in your garden. This will not only reduce your dependency on chemical fertilizers, but also save you from spending money on disposal services.
Use them to fill the hole
After having your old stumps ground, you will always be left with holes that need filling. While some homeowners fill these holes with topsoil, you can easily fill them with the resulting wood chips and then top them off with topsoil. Doing so will reduce the amount of topsoil that is needed to restore the area.
Offer it for free to farmers
stump grindings has a lot of uses around a farm. They can be used as beddings for animals. They can be used to line paths. They can also be used as a wood repair material.
Therefore, there is always a number of farmers around you who would be happy to collect the wood chippings on their own. They will likely do the heavy lifting of carting them away at no charge to you.
iscard them
You don’t have to always find a clever way to use the resulting wood chippings. You can simply request a tree service to dispose of the grindings on your behalf. And if you don’t have a lot of them, you can also place the grindings in your garbage and have them disposed of.
Is it bad to leave tree stumps?
Yes, it is bad to leave tree stumps on your property.
The following are the reasons why it is inadvisable to do so.
An unsafe home for children
Tree stumps will make your home unsafe for children. This is because they are a tripping hazard and so the chances of children tripping on the stumps and injuring themselves will increase if you leave the stumps in place.
An open invitation to termites and other pests
Tree stumps attract termites. They also attract ants and other pests. This is so especially when they are rotting or drying out. Therefore, leaving tree stumps of dead trees on your property is close to leaving an open invitation to these destructive visitors.
Compromised property value
There is also the fact that rotting tree stumps are ugly. Having a number of rotten stumps sticking out of your property will make it aesthetically unappealing. It will eventually lower the value of your property.
These are some of the reasons why you should get rid of a stump right after removing a tree.
Can old tree stumps attract pests like termites?
Yes, an old tree stump that is rotting can attract termite colonies. They are an easy target because they provide both shelter and cellulose material — that termites feed on.
What are the signs of termite infestations on tree stumps?
The following are signs of a termite invasion.
• Shelter tubes made of mud
• Holes in the stump
• A stump that feels hollow and which fails the screwdriver test — poking it with a screwdriver and if it collapses, it means that it is hollow and likely infested by termites
• Shed wings around and on the stump
• Traces of wood shavings at the tree stump’s base
• Mounds of termite droppings
FAQ’s
Will grass grow in the grindings?
The resulting wood chippings eventually change the soil’s composition — when they rot. They also limit the amount of nitrogen in the soil. When combined, these two things make it harder for grass to grow on them.
In order for grass to grow on them, the soil has to be treated with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Adding high-quality topsoil in the area is also always necessary.
