Rubber Mulch?

[Prizmz]

Is the use of rubber mulch a good idea in TV?

[downeaster]

Is the use of rubber mulch a good idea in TV?


I wouldn't use it. Too permanent and doesn't look "natural". I prefer pine straw or pine bark nuggets.

[linandvin]

We have the rubber mulch in St. Augustine and love it. Nothing has come through and it doesn't lose its color or disappear. We will use that in the Villages, or rock. I heard that the straw holds ticks but I don't know that for sure.

[golfermike22]

Does rubber mulch have a rubber odor? I want to remove the straw from our front yard but not sure about using rock.

[moongirl]

Our neighbors have rubber much. True, it doesn't lose color, but when we get heavy rains it floats into our yard and I have to pick it up and toss back. Also, several months ago I kept smelling something and thought it was mold somewhere on our lanai. Couldn't find anything and finally realized it was the neighbors rubber mulch. Every time it gets wet (rain, sprinklers) it really smells strongly of rubber.

[golfermike22]

thanks for the feedback. I think i'll stay away from the rubber mulch.

[golfnut]

i would suggest you get more than one opinion before you make up your mind, we have friends with rubber mulch and they have not had any of the experiences noted by moongirl. i suspect moongirls neighbors may have bought an inferior product. our friends love theres and we are there all the time and have never smelled rubber....gn

[linandvin]

We bought ours at Lowes, and it didn't smell. Didn't even run away with the raindrops, but I guess that depends on the pitch of the land. I do think a snake might have liked the warmth of it, though, as I did see one slither underneath.

[golfermike22]

Maybe moongirl's neighbor used chopped up foam rubber. I'll still plan on doing research. I wonder if this rubber mulch is from old tires.

[kaydee]

This topic has come up several times and I have replied to each and I certainly don't mind repeating my positive comments again as we love having rubber mulch. We've had it down now for 3 years and have absolutely no complaints with it. It does not float, it does not smell regardless how it gets wet and have never found and critters nesting. We purchased our mocha brown rubber mulch at Brown's Distributors in Fruitland Park. We are BIG fans of rubber mulch :)

[barb1191]

We tried the rubber mulch and didn't like it at all. It would float on the walkways, driveways, on the grass and became real messy. Had it removed and went to stones.

A neighbor of our had it as well and removed it for the same reason we removed ours. Maybe quality does have a lot to do with it, yet we had a professional landscaper do the job. Our neighbor did not have the same landscaper as us, so I guess we can't blame the landscapers, huh? Or maybe?

[golfermike22]

Thanks Kaydee.

[JohnN]

a neighbor has rubber mulch and it looks great.
It's much cheaper than stone.
I think I read it's 5 times heavier than wood mulch.
I have wood mulch and it really doesn't blow around or wash that much at all,
but it does a little at times.

I think it's not a bad option, but stone/rubber/wood all have some pro and con.
Good luck.

[moongirl]

My neighbors' rubber mulch is a reddish brown material and looks like chopped up tires. The chunks are different sizes and shapes. Don't know if there are different types. It was put down by a "supposedly" professional landscaper along with the "poured" curbing. Almost all of it has washed from his side yard to ours during the last couple of rains we've had. And the rubber smell is always there. Sounds like from other posts, there may be some types/brands that don't smell/float.

[Dirigo]

Our neighbors to the east had rubber mulch in Emmalee Villlas. It would wash out into and down the street in a heavy rain. Methinks there must be varying grades of rubber mulch because some replies here state that their rubber mulch doesn't wash away.

Here in Maine we have massive beds around our dwelling. We have to buy 10 cubic yards just to refresh the mulch every 3-4 years or so. It is a lot of work and costs over $30/yd.

A high quality rubber mulch that stays put and doesn't smell seems like a good investment.

[champion6]

Regarding whether rubber mulch (or any mulch) will wash away, I would suggest this... look up. Does the house have gutters? Does the roof slope towards that side of the house and dump large amounts of water when it rains? Maybe stones won't move under any circumstances, but most other mulches will move if they are subjected to a large volume of water coming into the landscaping from the roof. Just my two cents.

[kaydee]

I posted earlier being a BIG fan of rubber mulch but I wanted to add my 2 cents again. We recently landscaped an additional area using the same rubber mulch that we've had down for 3 yrs in another area of our yard. This new area is slightly pitched and I do mean slightly.... not long after we did this new area we got hit with VERY high winds and TORRENTIAL rain. I will admit I was concerned due to the slight pitch. Not one piece washed out. Again, we are big fans of rubber mulch...but to each their own and this is just our opinion.

[linandvin]

Thanks, all, for your thoughts on the rubber mulch. I might try a small patch before doing the entire area. Just want something that works and get us out to play instead of working in the garden!

[l2ridehd]

I have two neighbors near one home that have rubber mulch. Both houses slope toward the road somewhat. One has major wash out problems, the other none. I went and looked close at both types of mulch. The one that washes, the nuggets are small, the one that does not, the nuggets are big. The small ones are the size of big marbles but smaller then a golf ball. The large ones are about as big as two golf balls. So my suggestion would be to consider the size of the rubber mulch when buying. I did not smell rubber at either home but was there only a short time.

[champion6]

I have two neighbors near one home that have rubber mulch. Both houses slope toward the road somewhat. One has major wash out problems, the other none. I went and looked close at both types of mulch. The one that washes, the nuggets are small, the one that does not, the nuggets are big. The small ones are the size of big marbles but smaller then a golf ball. The large ones are about as big as two golf balls. So my suggestion would be to consider the size of the rubber mulch when buying. I did not smell rubber at either home but was there only a short time.That is VERY informative. Thanks for taking the time to investigate and post!
:BigApplause:

[rdhdleo]

When we first moved here 8 years ago we went with rock. How I wish I knew about rubber mulch back then. We took out the pine bark in our back and have replaced it with rubber mulch. Since doing that haven't seen the bugs like we used to (and yes we have pest control) Even in storms it has stayed put. We LOVE it! As soon as were are able we will be selling off our tons of rock and will replace it all with the rubber mulch. No smell and looks really nice. I think we got ours at Lowes. If you pull your own weeds pulling out of rock is horrible. Just an added note there ;)

[punkpup]

I was looking at some rubber mulch the other day at Home Depot I think and it was on a roll. I thought that was a great alternative to bagged rubber mulch as it seems "connected" so maybe you wouldn't have the problems of it blowing or washing away.

[MyKisa]

...once in the lawn, the rubber never goes away.....come to Florida and put your toes in the sand, not rocks or tires....pine bark is good, pine straw is the very best