# Rubber Mulch



## TigerinFL

last fall we switched to rubber mulch for our flower beds in the front. I have never been a fan of regular mulch because it can attract termites and here in the south they can reek havoc. we had been using pine straw but it wouldn't last more than 6 months before it needed to be replaced.

so far the rubber mulch has held its color very well in the Florida sun. it doesn't seem to attract ants or other pest like mulch and pine straw did and it doesn't float away when it rains cats and dogs. it was pricey but if you do the math and it last 4 or 5 years, then it's a good investment. they package says the color will last for 12 years. we shall see about that.

we got it at Home Depot and it comes in either brown or red. we have yet to see any weeds or grass growing in the beds so far.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-0-8-cu-ft-Mocha-Brown-Rubber-Mulch-HDVMBMN8CB/203714943


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## Mightyquinn

I too switched to rubber mulch last year and so far I am a fan of it. I figure if I can get at least half of the 12 years out of the color it's a win for me.


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## Reel Low Dad

When the rain stops I will take a pic of new rubber mulch vs stuff that is 6 years old. The in-laws gave me all their mulch when they switch to rock. You can tell a difference but it isn't much.

Edit: I actually had one already from when I added a bit of the new. The older stuff is rather thin and has a bit or organic material in it from when they pulled it up.



And one after the rain and another where I put down the old mulch thicker.


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## Rackhouse Mayor

During an annual termite inspection many years ago the company found termites in one of my flower beds next to the house. In talking with the guy he said never put wood mulch in beds - you're just asking for it. So I replaced the beds with rubber mulch. I bought the kind from Lowes that was 0.8 cu. ft. for $10. It was very expensive. However, it lasted ~5 years with no fade before I moved. I suspect it's still there. Also never had another termite problem. I posted on another thread about the break even analysis on it. I think the piece of mind against termites for us southerners is worth something. My new house has probably 1k sq ft of flowerbeds though - that's a steep price. I haven't found a good bulk price yet. Most of the bulk stuff is the playground chunks and not the shredded stuff. If anyone has a good bulk shredded recommendation I'm all ears.


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## Reel Low Dad

Costco has 1.5 cubic ft bags right now for 7-8 bucks. Only a few days left on that deal though.


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## kds

How does rubber mulch affect the soil?


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## BXMurphy

Rubber mulch. Almost as bad as that pea stone crap.

In a properly planted garden, you will never see the mulch (and the weeds will never see the sun).

Go with bare soil and maybe over-spray with SnapShot.


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## Mightyquinn

kds said:


> How does rubber mulch affect the soil?


I think the long term effects of it are still unknown since it's fairly new product. I myself, am not too concerned about the long term effects as I can't see it really effecting anything as it's rubber and will probably take forever to break down.


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## Rackhouse Mayor

BXMurphy said:


> Rubber mulch. Almost as bad as that pea stone crap.
> 
> In a properly planted garden, you will never see the mulch (and the weeds will never see the sun).
> 
> Go with bare soil and maybe over-spray with SnapShot.


Maybe bare soil works in Massachusetts, but it's not a good idea for us Southerners. It's not entirely about weeds. It's also about insulating the soil from the sun as well as retaining moisture. You know, for when it gets "hotter than a $2 pistol".


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## BXMurphy

Rackhouse Mayor said:


> It's also about insulating the soil from the sun as well as retaining moisture.  You know, for when it gets "hotter than a $2 pistol".


Just need the right plants or a better irrigation method.

Why would you dig something up and cover the ground with... rubber... mulch?

Good grief!


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## Topcat

BXMurphy said:


> Rackhouse Mayor said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's also about insulating the soil from the sun as well as retaining moisture. You know, for when it gets "hotter than a $2 pistol".
> 
> 
> 
> Just need the right plants or a better irrigation method.
> 
> Why would you dig something up and cover the ground with... rubber... mulch?
> 
> Good grief!
Click to expand...

Spoken like a true Northerner... My wife and I grew up in Michigan. I relocated to South Carolina ahead of my wife by about 5 years. So I grew accustomed to the heat and understood the best times to work outside to avoid the summer heat and high summer sun. The first summer my wife was here, she went out at about 1pm to do yard work. I told her it was not a good idea - it was too hot and the sun was too high in the sky. She looked at the sun and said "looks like the same sun back home in Michigan" (spoken like a true Northerner) I let her go at it. About 15 minutes later she came in the house beet red, and covered in sweat and said "My God it is too hot out there to work in the yard". I laughed, then went out and finished what she started. That was the last time she even tried any yard work. She has been "Southerner-ized"

On the other hand, I've become acclimated. Now I will go out at noon when it is 100+ heat index and go at it. I just make sure to have plenty of water and gatorade standing by.


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## BXMurphy

Topcat said:


> On the other hand, I've become acclimated. Now I will go out at noon when it is 100+ heat index and go at it. I just make sure to have plenty of water and gatorade standing by.


Dude... that southern climate is no joke. I remember going to Disney Planet (or whatever they call it down there) in Florida.

I will never forget how physically heavy the atmosphere felt. It just weighed on my shoulders. Hot... sticky... miserable.

You are right... you get used to it... but, boy! Those first couple of days there... I was dyin'!


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## Topcat

BXMurphy said:


> Topcat said:
> 
> 
> 
> On the other hand, I've become acclimated. Now I will go out at noon when it is 100+ heat index and go at it. I just make sure to have plenty of water and gatorade standing by.
> 
> 
> 
> Dude... that southern climate is no joke. I remember going to Disney Planet (or whatever they call it down there) in Florida.
> 
> I will never forget how physically heavy the atmosphere felt. It just weighed on my shoulders. Hot... sticky... miserable.
> 
> You are right... you get used to it... but, boy! Those first couple of days there... I was dyin'!
Click to expand...

Yep, so back to what @Rackhouse Mayor was saying. Mulch helps with keeping the soil from losing moisture too fast.


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## TigerinFL

I love my rubber mulch and no I don't lack imagination and I am not poor either.


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## Rackhouse Mayor

TulsaFan said:


> Everybody was getting along so well and then this thread happens...Is this the turning point of The Lawn Forum? @Ware takes the day off to have a child and everything goes to hell???


Everything was going fine until @BXMurphy started trolling everyone. :lol:

In all seriousness, I've considered going "mulch free" since I saw @wardconnor doesn't use it and has magnificent flowerbeds. But, I kept telling myself "he doesn't have the hot climate that I have". For me, I was always taught to think it was a necessity down here. Maybe it's not, and I should experiment. It sure would be nice to never run over mulch with the lawn mower again.

Anyone deep down south skipping mulch?


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## BXMurphy

Rackhouse Mayor said:


> Everything was going fine until @BXMurphy started trolling everyone. :lol:


Good gravy! Lost my head with the rubber mulch!


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## kds

Alright, so... I have a large area where I need to mulch. The problem is, that I need about 30 cu yds. I can get a load that big delivered to me, but the dump truck won't be able to get to the area. It's going to be a hassle. I don't want to have to deal with this every year. I'm actually considering rubber mulch.

I wasn't looking for rubber mulch, but I did come across this site: http://bestrubbermulch.com/allproducts/redwood-rubber-mulch-ia/

It says I can get a pallet that covers 77 sq ft delivered to me for $618. Doesn't this seem a little too good to be true?


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## Colonel K0rn

@kds check out https://www.groundsmartrubbermulch.com/


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## Rackhouse Mayor

kds said:


> Alright, so... I have a large area where I need to mulch. The problem is, that I need about 30 cu yds. I can get a load that big delivered to me, but the dump truck won't be able to get to the area. It's going to be a hassle. I don't want to have to deal with this every year. I'm actually considering rubber mulch.
> 
> I wasn't looking for rubber mulch, but I did come across this site: http://bestrubbermulch.com/allproducts/redwood-rubber-mulch-ia/
> 
> It says I can get a pallet that covers 77 sq ft delivered to me for $618. Doesn't this seem a little too good to be true?


You state above that it covers 77 sq ft but it's actually 77 cu. ft. I think you know that and just had a typo but just wanted to clarify. How much space are you covering?

My personal experience with it is anything south of $8/cu. ft is a good deal, anything $8-9 is an average sale and $10+ is the reg price. Crumbs are usually what the online bulk stores sell, and I was always in the market for shredded.


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## kds

Rackhouse Mayor said:


> kds said:
> 
> 
> 
> Alright, so... I have a large area where I need to mulch. The problem is, that I need about 30 cu yds. I can get a load that big delivered to me, but the dump truck won't be able to get to the area. It's going to be a hassle. I don't want to have to deal with this every year. I'm actually considering rubber mulch.
> 
> I wasn't looking for rubber mulch, but I did come across this site: http://bestrubbermulch.com/allproducts/redwood-rubber-mulch-ia/
> 
> It says I can get a pallet that covers 77 sq ft delivered to me for $618. Doesn't this seem a little too good to be true?
> 
> 
> 
> You state above that it covers 77 sq ft but it's actually 77 cu. ft. I think you know that and just had a typo but just wanted to clarify. How much space are you covering?
> 
> My personal experience with it is anything south of $8/cu. ft is a good deal, anything $8-9 is an average sale and $10+ is the reg price. Crumbs are usually what the online bulk stores sell, and I was always in the market for shredded.
Click to expand...

Oops, yeah I meant 77 cu ft.

I'm not sure where I went wrong on the calculation, but I have an 888 sq ft area to cover. According to this calculator, that's 11 cu ft of mulch at 3" deep... apparently in my price comparison shopping I got 28 cu ft into my head. The Lowe's calculator says 8 cu ft. Home Depot says 8.

Where the heck did I get 28 cu yds from?


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## pennstater2005

Just saw the Groundsmart rubber mulch at my local Aldi for $4.99.

https://slickdeals.net/f/11491067-rubber-mulch-4-99-aldi-b-m


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## g-man

Costco had a great deal until 15apr. It was $7 for 1.5cuft bag. Most bags are 0.75cuft.


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## TigerinFL

pennstater2005 said:


> Just saw the Groundsmart rubber mulch at my local Aldi for $4.99.
> 
> https://slickdeals.net/f/11491067-rubber-mulch-4-99-aldi-b-m


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## pennstater2005

TigerinFL said:


> pennstater2005 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Just saw the Groundsmart rubber mulch at my local Aldi for $4.99.
> 
> https://slickdeals.net/f/11491067-rubber-mulch-4-99-aldi-b-m
Click to expand...

I was tempted! Maybe next year. Not having to mulch for ten years would be awesome!


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## BXMurphy

kds said:


> Alright, so... I have a large area where I need to mulch. The problem is, that I need about 30 cu yds. I can get a load that big delivered to me, but the dump truck won't be able to get to the area. It's going to be a hassle. I don't want to have to deal with this every year. I'm actually considering rubber mulch.
> 
> I wasn't looking for rubber mulch, but I did come across this site: http://bestrubbermulch.com/allproducts/redwood-rubber-mulch-ia/
> 
> It says I can get a pallet that covers 77 sq ft delivered to me for $618. Doesn't this seem a little too good to be true?


KDS, why do you "need to mulch?"

What bothers me the MOST about rubber mulch and pea stone are two things:

1. They are tough to dig out if you change your mind.
2. Weeds STILL grow through them.

Beyond that, they make a mess when they escape their bounds and you can't walk barefoot around it.

Weren't you the guy with the terraces? Have you thought about Astro Turf and potted plants (fake or real)?

There are two or three pizza shops near me that do this and it doesn't look that bad...


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## kds

BXMurphy said:


> kds said:
> 
> 
> 
> Alright, so... I have a large area where I need to mulch. The problem is, that I need about 30 cu yds. I can get a load that big delivered to me, but the dump truck won't be able to get to the area. It's going to be a hassle. I don't want to have to deal with this every year. I'm actually considering rubber mulch.
> 
> I wasn't looking for rubber mulch, but I did come across this site: http://bestrubbermulch.com/allproducts/redwood-rubber-mulch-ia/
> 
> It says I can get a pallet that covers 77 sq ft delivered to me for $618. Doesn't this seem a little too good to be true?
> 
> 
> 
> KDS, why do you "need to mulch?"
> 
> What bothers me the MOST about rubber mulch and pea stone are two things:
> 
> 1. They are tough to dig out if you change your mind.
> 2. Weeds STILL grow through them.
> 
> Beyond that, they make a mess when they escape their bounds and you can't walk barefoot around it.
> 
> Weren't you the guy with the terraces? Have you thought about Astro Turf and potted plants (fake or real)?
> 
> There are two or three pizza shops near me that do this and it doesn't look that bad...
Click to expand...

Yes.


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## raymond

Mightyquinn said:


> kds said:
> 
> 
> 
> How does rubber mulch affect the soil?
> 
> 
> 
> I think the long term effects of it are still unknown since it's fairly new product. I myself, am not too concerned about the long term effects as I can't see it really effecting anything as it's rubber and will probably take forever to break down.
Click to expand...

100% agree and this is what stopped me from buying the rubber mulch. If I accidentally mow over the mulch or if it kicks out on my grass, since it's rubber it'll likely won't rot in our lifetime. Sounds like a PITA to clean up if it leaves it bounds


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## BXMurphy

raymond said:


> 100% agree and this is what stopped me from buying the rubber mulch. If I accidentally mow over the mulch or if it kicks out on my grass, since it's rubber it'll likely won't rot in our lifetime. Sounds like a PITA to clean up if it leaves it bounds


Man, you ain't LIVED until you've dealt with that white pea-stone crap. You can see what I mean by driving past almost any new or used car lot.

The thing I hate about mulch in general is that it still requires maintenance. You are always refreshing it and you still wind up having to spray it down with herbicide to keep the weeds from infiltrating it.

I have finally decided that since I already know how to control weeds in my lawn, I can just as easily control them in bare soil. So, the trick is don't have bare soil if you don't need it. If I'm going to plant a flower garden, I am going to minimize bare soil. Any lawn that I open up will be packed with flowers.


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