In some post here I replied to someone who was concerned that using rice straw for mulch would encourage pluak (termites) by saying that I had never seen pluak associated with rice straw....well today I saw some. I am building a kitchen and am pouring concrete columns. To keep the concrete wet while curing I tie rice straw bundles all around and up and down the column right after taking the forms off. Today when removing the straw from a totally cured column there were pluak happily living on the surface of the concrete right where the wet (and by now rotting) straw was held firmly against the concrete.

So....to whoever it was that I replied before...I've seen it...it does happen.....but....I've still not seen it in my garden but I will do some extra reconning to see if I can spot some there. Also, from what I have been told and from what I have experienced, pluak in the garden is not a problem. The Thai farmers say they make holes in the ground which helps water to penetrate.....and I have never seen any pluak damage done to live plants...at least I have never associated any damage with pluak activity....but I'll start looking more carefully.

Chownah

In some post here I replied to someone who was concerned that using rice straw for mulch would encourage pluak (termites) by saying that I had never seen pluak associated with rice straw....well today I saw some. I am building a kitchen and am pouring concrete columns. To keep the concrete wet while curing I tie rice straw bundles all around and up and down the column right after taking the forms off. Today when removing the straw from a totally cured column there were pluak happily living on the surface of the concrete right where the wet (and by now rotting) straw was held firmly against the concrete.

So....to whoever it was that I replied before...I've seen it...it does happen.....but....I've still not seen it in my garden but I will do some extra reconning to see if I can spot some there. Also, from what I have been told and from what I have experienced, pluak in the garden is not a problem. The Thai farmers say they make holes in the ground which helps water to penetrate.....and I have never seen any pluak damage done to live plants...at least I have never associated any damage with pluak activity....but I'll start looking more carefully.

Chownah

chowna post=1297912 pluak [termites] two things ,In my garden [phuket] i have a termite mound.

didnt seem to concern me, And i see some people, even build shelters for them??/

how ever i built a wood wash house. some years back and about a year later was battleing termites,

eating it asap. Then an amy of black ants wiped them, or most of them out.

the wood is still standing.

I have a five year old Jackfruit tree thats just dried up ,bearing its first fruit ??I am told its termites??

five years back we had a huge bees nest it was attacked by a sea Eagal ,for honey [on video] and about six months later an army of red ants wiped out the bees.

we have two new bee nests, in our trees, that need cutting ,

Ill give that amiss you have to look twice a day to check on ant movements. its amazing yaimar