You may have already read or heard about the dire warnings circulated on the Internet alerting gardeners about cheap mulch being sold by home improvement stores. This low-priced mulch supposedly comes from Louisiana and is infested with Formosan termites. These alerts seem to have spread almost as quickly as a computer virus. Gardeners around the country are extremely concerned. Fortunately, this warning is basically a hoax -- a myth -- the beginning of a new urban legend.

Let's look at the facts. The Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, Bob Odom, points out that his department has quarantined woody debris being removed from termite-infested areas. In the quarantined areas, contractors are mulching and hauling the waste to approved landfills within the infested areas.

Each parish (county) in the quarantined areas must submit a plan for the treatment of the wood before it can be moved out of the area. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is making sure the quarantine is being observed and their invasive pest expert has contacted the stores mentioned in the e-mail warnings regarding the use of such wood in their mulches.

Odom says, "In my opinion, someone is using the Internet to cause hysteria about a problem that doesn't really exist. If there are people out there who know about someone violating the quarantines, then they need to report it to us. We'll shut the culprits down real quick but it has to be reported." He added, "I think the quarantines are doing the job, though. We've worked with the debris contractors, the Corps of Engineers and FEMA to handle the debris and quarantines."

I'd like to point out that it doesn't make much sense for the home improvement stores mentioned in the warnings to ship chipped wood all the way from Louisiana to Washington. Given the high cost of shipping, it's likely the mulch wouldn't be very "cheap" once it arrived in stores here. It would be much more cost-effective to use waste chipped wood and bark from trees in the Northwest. Also, most gardeners in the region use shredded bark or bark nuggets for mulching, not chipped wood.

Out of curiosity you might want to know about the Formosan termite, sometimes dubbed the "super termite." It's a non-native species believed to have entered the U.S. sometime after World War II on military ships through Southern ports.

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, is extremely destructive. This is partially because of the size of its colonies. While native subterranean termites tend to have colonies of about 1 million termites, Formosan termite colonies may reach 8 million.

Like other subterranean termites, the Formosan termites feed primarily on wood, but also on other cellulose-containing materials such cardboard and paper. While they don't eat other types of materials for nutrition, they will chew their way through them in search of food and moisture. While rumored to chomp their way through concrete, they don't. However, they are very adept at finding their way through tiny cracks and fissures in concrete and mortared walls.

So far, the Formosan termite has only been found in Southern states, Southern California and Hawaii. The cost of control of these destructive pests and the repair of their damage is extremely high. Their destruction already has cost residents of New Orleans more than $1 billion.

This super termite may have entered the U.S. on ships and become established in port regions, but it has been unwittingly spread to other areas by gardeners in infested potted plants, railroad ties and landscape timbers and trees. So while there is no substantive truth in the Internet warnings, it's not a bad idea to think about the things you can do to prevent subterranean termites from becoming a problem.

Here are some tips:

-- Don't store wood, cardboard or paper in such a way that these materials are in direct contact with the soil. This also includes wooden planters, posts, tubs, trellises and firewood. When possible, anchor wooden posts in cement so the wood is not in direct contact with the soil.

-- Don't stack firewood close to your house.

-- Inspect any wooden items, such as railroad ties, wood mulch or landscape timbers, before buying them and placing them in your landscape.

-- Keep mulch, landscape plants and wooden structures a foot or more away from the foundation of your home. Don't use wood chips as a mulch around your home's foundation.

-- Termites need moisture. Fix leaky outdoor faucets and water lines. Slope the landscape away from the house so precipitation and irrigation water drains away from the house. Prevent sprinklers from wetting the walls of your house or other wooden structures. Fix any leaks which can create damp conditions.

-- Look for and dispose of any wooden stakes or scrap wood left behind in the soil from construction projects.

-- Get rid of any dead wood in the landscape, especially the roots and stumps of trees and shrubs that have been removed.

In the next month or so, our native western subterranean termite will be swarming or flying about for the purpose of reproduction and establishment of new colonies. To the untrained eye, winged termites look like winged ants. If you suspect you might have a problem with termites, bring a sample of the offending creatures to the Benton County WSU Extension office at 5600-E W. Canal Drive, Kennewick, and we'll tell you if it's an ant -- or termite.

If you want to know more about termite detection, prevention and control in Washington, you can find the WSU Extension Bulletin "Termites" available free online at http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb0787/eb0787.pdf.

* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Office in Benton County.