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If you like the look of mulch in your plant beds, be aware that it can attract a variety of pests, including termites. To avoid wood-to-foundation contact, leave a one-foot barrier around your house and fill it in with rocks or gravel, starting mulch past that barrier and working it outward into your plant beds. 

You can fill the holes weeds leave behind with soil or sand to avoid unsightly spots or tripping hazards. If you remove weeds from a grassy area, fill the hole with soil and grass seed, and water regularly to promote grass growth.

While they’re popular and have a lot of pros, the cons of river rocks include the following:

• River rocks don’t break down or provide nutrients to plants. 

• These stones can get hot and scorch nearby plants. 

• River stones may heat the surrounding soil to inhospitable temperatures. 

• Rocks can block rainwater from seeping into the ground if installations are too thick or tightly packed.

Most downsides occur when using river rock as mulch in gardens and flower beds. However, you can still incorporate river rocks into your landscape as long as you use them in the correct ways.

The best mulches for trees are wood chips, bark nuggets, or pine straw. Depending on your goals, you may want to avoid using plastic, stone, rubber, or wet grass clippings. Plastic mulch prevents water from reaching the mulched areas of your tree, stones don’t offer any nutritional benefits to the soil, rubber can release byproducts into the soil when it decomposes, and wet grass clippings can lead to rot. 

Plastic may prove beneficial in cold climates in the winter, but wood chips are the ideal option for most environments.