I've been trying to decide what to put in the flower bed around my house. The prior owners put that white rock in there, but it's pretty much all gone now.

I've never been big on the white rocks, so I've been thinking about putting down cypress mulch. But I've heard conflcting reports about how effective it is at repelling bugs and insects. I've heard that it works great, and that it is only somewhat effective.

Besides cypress mulch, does anybody have any other good suggestions?

Cedar chips. The bad thing about any wood type bedding is that the wind pushes it around and it floats off in a big rain. You might be better off with a weed barrier sheet and some small field stone or even pea gravel. Good luck.

Thank you, [b]Pangea[/b], you beat me to it!

Yes, Shamus, put down cedar mulch around your beds and everything will be just fine.

There is even a product called 'Cedarcide' that is actually used as an insect repellant by some gardeners.

After you put down the cedar mulch, stand back, and have a shot of Benedictine liqueur.

Put down a bit more cedar mulch, spread it out evenly and carefully, and have another shot of Benedictine.

Then water the mulch good and proper being very careful not to splash any water into your third shot of Benedictine.

Repeat this process again, followed by yet another shot of Benedictine.

Pitch yourself, face forward, into the freshly mulched bed to admire your fine horticultural handiwork from a close perspective.

Wake up around Midnight, go inside, remove insect laden clothes and put into washer, take a shower and go to bed.

Alternatively, wake up around 7:00 AM, go inside remove insect laden clothes and put into washer, take a shower and go to work.

Either method works fine for me.

Eric The(Sodden)Hun[>]:)]

LOL!!! I'm guessing this comes from experience? [:)]

I'll definitly look into to the cedar chips. With the cedar chips, do you also not have to worry about termites?

Post from ShamusMcOI -

When? Oh, you mean me? Yep, experience keeps a dear school, but a fool will learn in no other!

With either cedar or Benedictine, you will not be worried about termites. At all.

Termites hate cedar! So no, you don't need to worry about them at all.

Eric The(ReekingOfCedar&Benedictine)Hun[>]:)]

Any type of bark product works well as a mulch but remember that decomposing wood and its by products tie up soil nitrogen and you need to supplement that with some granular fertilizer and if you are planting annuals monthly feeding with a foliar spray like miracle gro or Peters 20-20-20 may also be a good idea as well.