Taste Preference

• Subterranean termites, or termites that live underground, prefer eating mulch made of cypress sapwood rather than cypress heartwood, according to the University of Florida Extension. Sapwood is located under the bark, while heartwood is in the trunk's center.
  
  

Significance

• Cypress mulch is not only a temporary food source, but also makes for easier tunneling than through hard-packed ground. Termites can even use mulch as a bridge over sites treated with an insecticide.
  
  

Prevention

• Never place cypress or any other type of mulch up against a house or the home's foundation. Keep mulch less than 2 inches thick in order to discourage termites from tunneling through the mulch.