What are the dangers in mulch that landscapers use?

I heard that sometimes old wood from pressure treated wood will wind up
in the mulch. Pressure treated wood contains copper arsenic that can
leach into the soil or perhaps under foot and introduced into the house
where your baby is crawling.

I was told that wood mulch also attracts termites to your house and
should kept at least 6" from your house.?

Thanks.

Some links I found:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract
http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/oii/cca.html

http://www.sptimes.com/News/031601/T...out_arse.shtml

"J Huntley Palmer" wrote in message
...
What are the dangers in mulch that landscapers use?

I heard that sometimes old wood from pressure treated wood will wind up in
the mulch. Pressure treated wood contains copper arsenic that can leach
into the soil or perhaps under foot and introduced into the house where
your baby is crawling.

I was told that wood mulch also attracts termites to your house and should
kept at least 6" from your house.?

There should not be PT in your "hardwood" mulch. I suppose it is a matter
of whether or not you trust your landscaper.
However, unless you child eats it (or burns it), it is pretty harmless.

Don't know about termites.

"Toller" wrote in message
...

"J Huntley Palmer" wrote in message
...
What are the dangers in mulch that landscapers use?

I heard that sometimes old wood from pressure treated wood will wind up
in the mulch. Pressure treated wood contains copper arsenic that can
leach into the soil or perhaps under foot and introduced into the house
where your baby is crawling.

I was told that wood mulch also attracts termites to your house and
should kept at least 6" from your house.?

There should not be PT in your "hardwood" mulch. I suppose it is a matter
of whether or not you trust your landscaper.
However, unless you child eats it (or burns it), it is pretty harmless.

Don't know about termites.


I agree, maybe the compost you can get from the local dump is contaminated
(I find plastic and metal foil most often) but mulch is made usually from
paper and or wood waste at a mill and a chunk of PT wood isn't going to look
like a chunk of bark. Even commercial compost might have some contaminants,
better more expensive brands have quality control to keep the junk out.