One of our Nature Neighbors recently sent us this message, and we can’t blame her for panicking!
“I was in the yard, spreading compost in preparation for seeding some ground cover. The bed with asters and goldenrod is bordered with large tree branches loosely woven together. When I looked, there were swarms of winged insects crawling over the rotten wood. Some were climbing up and flying away. I used the Seek app to confirm my fear: western subterranean termites.
This is the downside (along with yellowjacket nests!) of intentionally keeping a lot of rotting wood in your yard. Do you know anything about these guys and if they are a threat to your house or anything? The wikipedia I looked at said they prefer already rotten wood, which makes me think it’s probably ok. But I was just wondering if you have any experience with these critters.”
Sara’s response: Oh wow — swarms of winged termites would be alarming to me too! The good news is that finding them in old, decaying wood isn’t necessarily a sign that they’re going after your house. Western subterranean termites are important decomposers, and they’re often attracted to wood that’s already damp or rotting.
That said, because they live in the soil and can move from decaying wood into sound wood if conditions are right, I’d keep an eye on the situation, especially if the tree-branch border is close to the house or any other wooden structures. Keeping rotting wood away from the foundation and making sure there isn’t excess moisture around the house is probably a good precaution.
I don’t have firsthand experience with these critters, so it could also be worth a call to the folks at Good Earth or another pest company that specializes in eco-friendly practices, just to get their advice. And honestly, I think this is a good example of the tradeoff with leaving woody debris for wildlife — it’s great habitat, but sometimes you get the full ecosystem! At least the birds will be happy😄
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