The following article appeared in the May 7 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
It’s easy to enter the termite zone and not realize that’s where you are.
Homes are not falling down, trees are not disease-ridden, there’s no caution tape or painted lines to cross and no signs indicating Termite Zone Ahead.
It might sound creepy if you’re not into creepy-crawlies, but it’s really a lovely neighbourhood with a mix of century homes and more modern ones, and a steep slope that affords views of the Speed River in places.
The city seems to have found the right chemicals to attack the termite population and still meet Ministry of Environment approvals. But when you check out the map of Guelph’s termite zones, it’s clear homeowners and gardeners have a role to play in this too. No one can let their guard down.
The main termite zone is in the area surrounding the Guelph Youth Music Centre on Cardigan Street, which once was an abandoned mill riddled with termites. Called the Woolwich Area on city maps, the original termite zone was discovered in the 1960s and includes the neighbourhoods on either side of Woolwich Street between Earl Street to the north, and Norwich Street East to the south.
Since termites don’t swim across rivers or walk great distances, the outbreaks in the area of Emma Street and Pine Drive near Guelph General Hospital, and Windermere Court in the north-east part of the city indicate termites were moved there by people.
“Somebody moved something,” said Tim Myles, the city’s termite control officer. “Maybe an old shed or some firewood. That’s the kind of thing we don’t want to see.”
Last year, the province gave the go-ahead to use zinc borate and Myles said there was a 65 per cent suppression rate in termites, which is high. Termites are trapped, painted with the chemical, and released back to their colonies where they expose more termites to the chemical.
“We’re expecting low numbers (of termites) this year,” he said recently.
Termites are not a threat to gardens per se but they can devastate homes. They eat wood (especially old, damp wood), hollow out support posts in the process and put structural integrity at risk. And they multiply in a hurry.
Homeowners in the termite zone have one basic, simple rule to follow — avoid wood. Don’t leave wood lying on the ground, don’t submerge wood in the ground, leave an 18-inch gap between wood and the ground, and use a different building material from wood if possible.
Wooden fence and deck posts should be bolted into metal brackets set in concrete. Firewood should be piled in a metal crib or on asphalt, and the pile should be far from the house. Tree stumps should be removed.
“Termites forage in the yard before they get into a house,” Myles said. “If there’s no dead wood in the soil, there’s no way they’ll get into your house.
“Termites can expand at the rate of one property a year, but only if there are resources for them.”
John Reinhart says he doesn’t mind those restrictions. He’s a fan of natural landscapes and using rocks, especially limestone, in the garden.
He bought his house in the termite zone 22 years ago and proceeded to add stone walls, patios, ponds and even an outdoor fireplace to the landscape. The house burned down in a fire in 2004, and Reinhart carefully rebuilt the house around the landscaping features.
He lost one 100-foot spruce tree in the fire and some of the flower beds were disturbed. Stone steps to the front door were ripped up during construction of the house.
“It was quite a job to preserve the garden,” Reinhart said. “And it was more complicated to build the house because we’re in the termite zone. But gardening is pretty straightforward. You need good drainage and minimize the amount of rotting wood. Other than that, it’s no different from gardening anywhere else.”
Angelique Smith said she was a bit creeped out when her landlord told her the rental property she was considering in a converted house on Dufferin Street was in the termite zone.
“I called the city and it was reassuring. Once you know, it’s not hard to live here,” she said, adding there are no termites in the home. She only has a small strip of garden to play with and the hardest thing for her in terms of gardening in the zone, is not to disturb the city’s termite traps when she works in the yard, she said.
Jack Lillie was raking his yard on a warm April day. He’s lived in the neighbourhood for 75 years, he said. And though he’s not much of a gardener, he rakes up branches and leaves and abides by the rules.
Cleaning up after winter is important in the zone — branches that fall on the ground are a source of food for termites, so they should be picked up promptly. Residents in the zone need a disposal permit so the debris can be examined for termites. Once that has happened, homeowners take it to the Waste Resource Innovation Centre on Dunlop Drive. Permits are free. Myles said the important thing is that the waste material is inspected.
There’s the zone and then there’s the ring around the zone. Gardeners and homeowners there still abide by the same rules, but it’s a little more relaxed.
Adrienne Archer, who lives just outside the zone, said a garden in her backyard is surrounded with wood edging, “and they haven’t made us take it out, so I guess it’s OK,” she said.
“They put bins out for us a few years ago so we could get rid of things — shingles, old tree stumps and things that should be out. That’s helpful,” she said.
“It’s not that hard. If you’re thinking of wood, around here you start to think differently.”
Joanne Shuttleworth is a Mercury staff writer. She can be reached at [email protected]
Rules for gardening in the termite zone:
• Don’t use wood chip mulch or straw. These are both food and shelter for termites. Instead use coco beans, coconut husks, decorative sand or gravel as paths or to keep weeds down.
Residents in the termite zone need special permits when disposing of wood debris from their property. The permits are free, but the material must be inspected before it goes to landfill. Once in a landfill site, the methane gas will kill any termites.
Don’t swap woody plants or shrubs, like roses, some ivies, lilacs, weigela, forsythia etc. Other plants might be OK. Check the root ball first. Termites are about the size and colour of a grain of rice and if you have one, you probably have a mass of them.
Don’t use wooden planters and especially don’t use old, half-barrel planters. Warm, wet wood is exactly what termites love.
Make sure piles of firewood are off the ground, in a metal crib or piled on asphalt, and away from your house.
Wood should never be set in the ground. That means fence and deck posts should be attached to metal brackets set in sonotubes. Use only pressure-treated wood and be sure to re-treat cut ends. Termites don’t penetrate the chemicals, but a rough cut leaves untreated wood exposed for termites.
Consider other options to wooden fences and decks, like stone patios, composite decking material, vinyl, metal and bamboo.
Leave the traps alone. Every property in the termite zone has traps and city staff may attend to them. Property owners should not.
Remove tree stumps. Stumps are a source of food and a place for termites to overwinter.