Greetings to all. I am farming in an area In Bagamoyo Tanzania where I am facing a problem with termites. Two weeks ago I planted cassava and the termites have eaten everything. I am asking for help from someone who has experience with this problem.
1 Like
I would think that, Joshua should seek technical advice from professional agriculturists or crop and animal shops, they usually have the solution. Either you want to send them away from the hill or land or kill them, they are the solution to that.
1 Like
Hi Joshua,
A couple of years ago, a network member in southern Tanzania shared about his use of ash, tithonia, and neem as a termite control option. He shares his experience in the following article: Tithonia and neem fermented liquid for termite control | ECHOcommunity.org
Introduction to his context and use:
We have had quite a problem with establishing saplings due to termites. So, we dig the hole and line the hole with ash. Then transplant the sapling into the hole. Then, we pour the neem tea around the sapling. The neem tea makes a shaft of protection and meets up with the ash at the bottom of the hole which is preventing termites from coming up from underneath.
Some application content from his article:
I was primarily using it as a termite prevention around my saplings. I had to make sure to leave a good 6-inch [15-cm] diameter from the stem/stock as my solution was strong, but again, I was going for termite protection, not necessarily fertilizer.
I would get anywhere from four to six weeks of good termite protection.
Some cautions he shared:
I found if I poured it too close to the sapling it would burn the sapling. If it rained, that seemed to weaken and dilute the protection somewhat. But it did really help me establish saplings and other plants.
Thank you very much Stica and Kizito for your advice. Let me work on it today because they have been bothering me a lot. If you plant a plant today, tomorrow you will find that they have already eaten it. If you have not eaten it, they have forgotten it. It is better not to water it because if you water it, they will eat it. A friend of mine told me to pour aloe vera juice on it to solve the problem, but I did it and I did not see any success. Let me try this ash and neem mixture.
3 Likes
Dear Joshua,
Have you tried mulching? In general, termites prefer dry material over green material.
We have a lot of termites at our place here in Dodoma, but normally they don’t bother us, as we mulch a lot. Also, we have matebele ants (sungusungu) that help control them.
2 Likes
Dear Stacy, answers to Joshua’s problem about termites are also beneficial for us. Thanks so much. I have downloaded the docs.
1 Like
Hi Martin,
I’m very interested in hearing about how you mulch for termites. I have not personally had a garden in a termite prone area, but when I was in Northern Ghana I visited a small organic farm project and saw that there was no mulch. I asked about it and the Sister told me that when they mulch, the termites come and eat everything, mulch and vegetable plants. They were growing cabbages, peppers and tomatoes. Any thoughts on that? Thank you!
Hi Joshua,
there is two parts in this. The first is purely anecdotal, in that we mulch (a lot, I mean A LOT) on our farm, and termites are not really a problem. We have loads of termites, but they keep to the dry material, as there is enough of it. If it were to run out, they would probably attack our green plants as well, but it just never runs out… 
We do have some small damage to our trees, but mice are actually doing more damage at the moment.
The second part is about ecosystem: we strive to build an ecosystem on our farm. An ecosystem is an intricate web of life with hundreds of components that work together or balance each other out to create a stable balance. Termites are part of this ecosystem and have a specific role there, that is, to get organic matter into the ground (similar to what earthworms do in Europe, but adapted to a dry climate - because dry matter in arid regions doesn’t rot). They, too, have their counterparts to balance them out (matebele ants, army ants, lizards, birds etc.). So, in a functioning ecosystem, termites normally aren’t a problem. But if the ecosystem is out of balance (after a catastrophy, when we use pesticides and minralic fertilizer, or when we plant plants that just don’t fit the environment), there are “first responders” that come and try to get the thing into balance again. Termites are part of this “first response” unit. You can try and keep them in check by using poisons, but this will just keep your garden in a constant state of catastrophy, and you will always have to keep those first responders in check with ever more poison. Or you try to build a working ecosystem, where things will eventually balance themselves out.
The transition period is the most challenging, because you first get a lot of first responders, and their counterparts move in more slowly. So you need to be patient, and only use “soft” meanst (that don’t disturb the ecosystem development) to keep them in check (manual removal, neem tree extracts etc). Normally after a while, things calm down.
At least that’s how we approach things on our farm (60 acres), and it seems to work quite well. We do have a couple of vegetables (and some tree spp.) that struggle more, but that’s because they don’t really fit in our area. Some others work better in the dry season than in the rainy season etc. And of course we make mistakes and need to keep learning all the time.
I hope that clarifies things a bit.
Many blessings!