# Branches/Twigs Storage - fear of insects...



## olliek (Jan 16, 2012)

Hey Folks -  I am in my first year of using a wood burning stove (Jotul Castine). I own a little bit of woodland with my property and have recently cut two trees down. I store the split logs outside to dry but have a boat load of small branches and twigs. I will build a bigger shed next year outside where I will be able to store those as well but in the meantime I was contemplating putting the small stuff in my garage. Now I remember that the home inspector said when we bought the house never to have more than one days worth of wood in the house and also not to store any wood in the garage because of wood-boring insects. Does this hold true for twigs and branches as well (to be used for kindling and fire starting)?

And on a second thought - are you guys burning the bigger branches as rounds or do you split everything? And I mean a couple of inches in diameter?

Now out into the cold, cutting more stuff down! 

Thanks in advance!


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## Wood Duck (Jan 16, 2012)

You can stove wood outside without a shed, or store it outside with just a top cover such as a piece of plywood or metal roofing. A piece of roofing might be a cheap way to store the twigs and keep them dry. I leave my firewood uncovered but always try to keep kindling covered because I want the kindling to be as dry as possible.

I wouldn't worry about storing seasoned or partially seasoned firewood in the garage. I would not put fresh firewood in there because I'd worry about powder post beetles in the firewood leaving a mess of sawdust in the garage, and I'd worry about the wood not seasoning well in an enlcosed garage. I would not be too worried about bugs from the firewood attacking the garage.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 16, 2012)

My grandparents burned a lot of wood when I was younger-and they stored it in the basement.  Grandpa would get a load of logs delivered, buck and stack them-then at the beginning of the season, open one of the basement windows and toss the whole mess (several cords) down celler (he would load a dump trailer and tow it with the Gravely, then dump it in using a piece of ply as a "slide").  I remember finding a garder snake in there once, which I quietly removed since gram was deathly afraid of snakes (in a "there's a snake...arg..whack it with the nearest tool" kind of way).  I don't ever recall issues with bugs though, gram would have put a quick stop to that if there was-the laundry was down there and she was not one to have bugs or mess near her laundry.

We stored all the wood for this season between our sunporch and a little bumpout addition that's not useful for anything much more than wood storage, it's the size of a large closet.  I haven't noticed any bugs, except a few random spiders that I imagine were here before the wood anyway, and I haven't even seen one of them in at least a month.


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## Jags (Jan 16, 2012)

Bugs don't move much in the cold.  I would not store wood inside my house or garage during the warm weather.  Just my opinion.


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## ScotO (Jan 16, 2012)

Jags said:
			
		

> Bugs don't move much in the cold.  I would not store wood inside my house or garage during the warm weather.  Just my opinion.


exactly.  Like you said Jags, most of them borer beetles don't emerge till the warm summer months.  I never keep more than a week or two's worth of wood in the house at any given time, and even that is kept in my cold unfinished basement where it stays in the upper 40's.  Knock on wood but I've never had emerging beetles in my house in the years Ive been heating with wood...... http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef626.asp


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## 2late (Jan 16, 2012)

My house was built in 1952 and was designed for under floor hot water heat with a wood burning furnace. There is a wood chute built into the basement wall that goes into a wood storage area that holds up to 6 cords. I put 4 cords at a time in there. Other than a moth or two I've never seen, in the three years since we installed the Tarm, any insects. When we bought the house 11 years ago we stripped all the siding and did not find any insect damage.  So, my conclusion is that after 60 years of wood storage in the basement of this house if we don't have an insect infestation then an insect infestation from storing wood in the basement is a difficult thing to do. My question then is, has anyone posting here had an insect problem leading to damage caused by storing wood inside?


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## Thistle (Jan 16, 2012)

I use branches/twigs for kindling along with scraps from my shop,milling,corn cobs,scrap lumber from jobsites I work at etc.Been keeping a few boxes of the stuff in the semi-heated garage/shop underneath the house w/ w/o basement every winter.Extra stuff is stored in metal barrels/cans with lids outside year-round.Never had any problems with bugs.I cant remember the last time I seen any insect in those cardboard boxes,been years at least.


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## clemsonfor (Jan 16, 2012)

I personally would not store any wood more than a days worth in my house or garage. Period, for those that have had good luck im happy that you have. But my home is worth the most of anything i own and i sure dont want termites or anything else that i caused to get in it.

As for rounds, i burn them whole up to about 5"s or so.


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 16, 2012)

We don't really get termites up here.  We had a MAJOR infestation of carpenter ants at the old house when we bought it, but it was due to an improperly flashed chimney which allowed water to leak into the wall and create a damp enviroment in the studs.  Carpenter ants are attracted to this type of situation because they eat the bugs that live in the wet wood-they don't actually eat the wood, just tunnel in it.  They were confined to the area of damp wood, they never touched a dry area.  If you find them in a tree, you can be sure there's water damage somewhere.  I am not worried about them since I wouldn't have them in wood I'm stacking, nor do I think we have wet framing in the Cottage.  I don't know about powder post beetles, since I see their holes in barns everywhere around here.  What attracts them?


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## bogydave (Jan 16, 2012)

master of disaster said:
			
		

> Hey Folks -  I am in my first year of using a wood burning stove (Jotul Castine). I own a little bit of woodland with my property and have recently cut two trees down. I store the split logs outside to dry but have a boat load of small branches and twigs. I will build a bigger shed next year outside where I will be able to store those as well but in the meantime I was contemplating putting the small stuff in my garage. Now I remember that the home inspector said when we bought the house never to have more than one days worth of wood in the house and also not to store any wood in the garage because of wood-boring insects. Does this hold true for twigs and branches as well (to be used for kindling and fire starting)?
> 
> And on a second thought - are you guys burning the bigger branches as rounds or do you split everything? And I mean a couple of inches in diameter?
> 
> ...



If you are cutting live healthy trees, usually insect are not  an issue. If cutting dead standing or down trees then insect infested wood can be an issue.
Even the limbs need to season before burning, I'd store them outside & bring in a few days worth. See if you get any insects crawling around.
But if long term storage, I vote outside


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## firefighterjake (Jan 17, 2012)

Not much to add to this discussion except to say I pretty much agree with folks here . . . if it's cold the bugs don't move, but if you're looking at long term storage you may not want to store a lot of stuff inside. I generally don't move my wood on to the porch until the temps are cold . . . and I bring in a day or so worth of wood inside every day and have had no issues with bugs.

I do however want to welcome you to hearth.com.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 17, 2012)

master of disaster said:
			
		

> Hey Folks -  I am in my first year of using a wood burning stove (Jotul Castine). I own a little bit of woodland with my property and have recently cut two trees down. I store the split logs outside to dry but have a boat load of small branches and twigs. I will build a bigger shed next year outside where I will be able to store those as well but in the meantime I was contemplating putting the small stuff in my garage. Now I remember that the home inspector said when we bought the house never to have more than one days worth of wood in the house and also not to store any wood in the garage because of wood-boring insects. Does this hold true for twigs and branches as well (to be used for kindling and fire starting)?
> 
> And on a second thought - are you guys burning the bigger branches as rounds or do you split everything? And I mean a couple of inches in diameter?
> 
> ...




I have never liked storing wood in house or garage. We stack outdoors because the wood will dry much better and faster letting Mother Nature blow on it. This is how we stack (notice the poles we cut to stack the wood on and it is covered with old galvanized roofing).







As for splitting, I like to keep some rounds but not a lot. Of course the little stuff, like 3" on down never get split. We'll save some 5-6" rounds for overnight fires.


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## clemsonfor (Jan 17, 2012)

eclecticcottage said:
			
		

> We don't really get termites up here.  We had a MAJOR infestation of carpenter ants at the old house when we bought it, but it was due to an improperly flashed chimney which allowed water to leak into the wall and create a damp enviroment in the studs.  Carpenter ants are attracted to this type of situation because they eat the bugs that live in the wet wood-they don't actually eat the wood, just tunnel in it.  They were confined to the area of damp wood, they never touched a dry area.  If you find them in a tree, you can be sure there's water damage somewhere.  I am not worried about them since I wouldn't have them in wood I'm stacking, nor do I think we have wet framing in the Cottage.  I don't know about powder post beetles, since I see their holes in barns everywhere around here.  What attracts them?



I split a tree, a green oak that had termites in it. Think it was a green tree. I have also split many green trees that had carpenter ants. But you are correct they like damp wood and i beleive they feed on the fungi that is what causes dry rot, which odly enough is what breaks down WET wood? They go in a tree through branches usually. A branch breaks off and rots into the tree and the wound heals but not always caps off as the center rots out and into the heart of the tree, slowly rotting the heart out. This is where you find the ants in the center sections where it is black n punky.


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## olliek (Jan 24, 2012)

Seriously guys. Thanks for the ton of informations (and sorry about the late reply - work get in the way.) 

I think generally it reflects what i was thinking. Is started to load the smaller branches/twigs into the shed (well more like a covered stand) that I have been using for my purchased wood. I will build a bigger one later this year anyway, the idea being big enough to store the wood designated for the upcoming sason in there. 

IFFFFFF I have then more than a years supply i will simply stack outside. I had to buy this year as the decision to burn wood came relatively late.

Now that I got a chainsaw, an ax, a saw buck I am ready to roll.  I will not be able to do that for every year, but for the first one maybe 2 seasons there should be enough trees that need to come down. I also will try to source free wood, from people who want to get rid of it. We'll see.


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