Tree Removal

Yes. In fact, using wood chips as mulch has many benefits. They are a sustainable product and keep trees that have been removed out of the landfill. Wood chips protect garden beds, help retain soil moisture, provide frost protection, suppress weeds, and more.

No. Wood chips in no way attract or sustain termites, contrary to popular belief. Termites may sometimes be found underneath wood chips, but that’s more a matter of convenience (it’s dark and moist beneath the wood chips). Termites do not prefer wood chips over other substances or types of wood. There was even a study conducted by the University of Maryland that found more termites under pea gravel than wood chips.

However, we recommend keeping wood chips away from the sides of your house or any other buildings, as this may lead termites to the wood framing, which they will be happy to chew to pieces.

No. This has been a long-contested issue, but the short answer is that as long as wood chips are spread on the soil surface and not mixed into the soil, the nitrogen content of your soil will not change.

Here’s a longer and more technical answer… The layer of fresh wood chips that touches your soil will impact a very shallow zone of soil near the surface where nitrogen is drawn from the soil to help break down the chips (this only applies to fresh arborist wood chips, not composted chips). However, the roots of trees and shrubs are much deeper than this and will not lose access to nitrogen. You can read more from the University of Vermont Extension. 

This surface-level nitrogen deficiency actually works in your favor. It’s one reason why wood chips can suppress weed growth and it also helps the wood chips decompose, eventually adding more nutrients to the soil.

Yes. We don’t recommend using fresh wood chips around annuals, vegetables, or anything else with a shallow root system unless you first put down a layer of compost underneath the wood chips. Composted or well-aged wood chips are fine to use with any kind of plant.

That depends on what you want to use them for. If you plan to use them as a mulch placed on top of the soil, they do not need to be composted. If you want them for planting or mixing into the soil, they need to be composted for six months or longer, depending on how long it takes the wood to break down. Once wood chips are composted with other organic materials, the compost created is great for adding to your yard or garden to increase the nutrients in your soil. 

Wood chips are a wonderful form of organic mulch. They can be used to suppress weeds, regulate soil temperature, maintain moisture levels, and more! Just be sure not to use too much and to keep it pulled well back from the base of trees and shrubs (see our article on using mulch around trees for details). 

No. Unlike lightweight mulches such as sawdust or straw, wood chip mulch is unlikely to blow away. But if you live in a particularly windy area and are concerned about it, you can wet the wood chips down with a garden hose, plant windbreaks such as evergreen trees, or put up barriers around the area where you are placing your wood chips.

Since water weighs down the wood chips, it is unlikely that they will wash away in the rain. In fact, wood chips can help prevent soil erosion during a rainstorm. In flooding situations, the wood chips might be washed away (but in those conditions, almost anything would be dislodged).

1. Wood chips can cushion the ground under a swing set or play area. This works for both residential properties as well as schools, neighborhood playgrounds, and parks.
2. Create an informal path using wood chips. This is especially helpful if you want to keep foot traffic to one area of your property.
3. Wood chips can be placed under rain gutter downspouts to keep the water from eroding the soil underneath.
4. Cover your garden with a layer of cardboard covered with woodchips at the end of the season to protect your soil and prepare for spring planting.
5. Add wood chips to your compost pile. They will break down and add organic matter and nutrients over time.
6. Place wood chips in the median strip between the street and sidewalk in front of your house (if your city or neighborhood allows you to). It can give a uniform look to the area.
7. If there’s a section of your garden or yard that you’re not using, cover it with wood chips for the time being. The wood chips will suppress weeds and keep anything else from growing.
8. Convert your lawn to garden space by covering the area with cardboard and wood chips. This will kill the grass and prepare the area for planting. You can even keep the cardboard and mulch in place if you want – just move the wood chips aside with a rake and cut a hole in the cardboard before digging your planting hole.
9. Use wood chips to build up raised beds. You don’t have to fill an entire raised gardening bed with soil, but instead can layer wood chips along with other organic materials such as sticks, needles, grass clippings, and leaves.