When a tree came down in our yard, we had to figure out what to do with it. Tree removal and disposal comes with its own risks to humans, and tree replacement comes with risks to the new tree if not done correctly. The chances of those risks increase in likelihood when a stubbornly optimistic gardener with a multi-year design plan is involved.
Every homeowner has to battle termites at one point or another, in one way or another. The only thing notable about our situation is the stubborn public health professional and organic gardener who refuses to allow bee-killing pesticides on her property. After some research and a couple informed conversations, we revisited a method we tried several years ago — with better results after following the instructions.
Once I got around to demolishing the dilapidated fence around our back porch, I knew I had to get rid of it in a responsible way. Landfilling is about as antithetical to “responsible disposal” as I can imagine, but because of the chemicals in pressure treated wood, there aren’t many better alternatives. The real key is making informed choices about whatever replaces it.
A few weeks ago I came face-to-face with some termites in our garden wall. We were not thrilled about the prospect, but I researched some alternatives that are more environmentally friendly than calling an exterminator. We did some things that will hopefully prevent the situation from getting worse and introduced a beneficial parasite that will hopefully eliminate some if not all of the colony.