Dear All, I try to stay on topic as much as I can, but have gotten a couple of emails from respected garden writers that are concerned about the spread of Formosan subterranean termites. It seems like it might be worthwhile to pass this on. I'd not think it would be a problem for countries outside the United States. Here was the first message: If you use mulch around your house be very careful about buying mulch this year. After the hurricane in New Orleans many trees were blown over. These trees were then turned into mulch and the state is trying to get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state or company who will come and haul it away. So it will be showing up in Home Depot and Lowes at dirt cheap prices with one huge problem; Formosan Termites will be the bonus in many of those bags. New Orleans is one of the few areas in the country where the Formosan Termites have gotten a strong hold, and most of the trees blown down were already badly infested with those termites. Now we may have the worst case that we have ever had of transporting a problem to all parts of the country. These termites can eat a house in no time at all and we have no good control against them, so tell your friends that own homes to avoid cheap mulch and know where it came from. And a second message had this link for more information about these termites: <http://lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/…>http://lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/… Mary Sue