# Do you store a stack of wood inside your home?



## CeeDee (Dec 20, 2018)

Someone told me recently he only ever keeps a spare log or two inside his home, and it's meant to be burned in his stove on that same day. He's worried about creepy crawlies chewing into the walls and floor boards.

We've always kept a small stack near our wood stove. Our hearth had a shelf that extended along the wall on one side and we'd stack our wood up against the wall. I removed the hearth and the new one won't have a shelf. Instead we're going to get a large tub.

I know wood can have termites, but I also know tons of people keep wood inside and even stack it up against the house just outside a door. What do you do with your wood? Do you only bring in what you'll need for the day?


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## SpaceBus (Dec 20, 2018)

I keep a few days worth in my mud room and a few loads near the stove. The rest is outside in sheds or covered racks.


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## redktmrider (Dec 20, 2018)

I have a connected shop on the back of my attached garage, I keep about one third to half a cord of assorted seasoned wood in there.


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## Sodbuster (Dec 20, 2018)

Mine stays in a cold garage until ready to burn, I've had creepy crawlies wake up in a matter of minutes in a warm house. Spider, hornets, flies, etc.


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## Jotel me this (Dec 21, 2018)

not every bug in the world is dangerous. we're just a society of wimps now-a-days 

a trick is to have a basket or box you keep your wood in. line the inside edge with sticky bug traps (home depot). most bugs that try to crawl out will get stuck.


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## vwmike (Dec 21, 2018)

We live where it rarely freezes so I leave all my wood in the shed and only bring in what I need for a load in the stove. Luckily I have it set up so it's not very far to get to the shed in bad weather.


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## velvetfoot (Dec 21, 2018)

And bugs don't fly, lol.

Wood is stored in garage.
In the house, I use this:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200362039_200362039


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## Sodbuster (Dec 21, 2018)

Jotel me this said:


> not every bug in the world is dangerous. we're just a society of wimps now-a-days
> 
> a trick is to have a basket or box you keep your wood in. line the inside edge with sticky bug traps (home depot). most bugs that try to crawl out will get stuck.



Not me, my wife..doesn't like the wolf spiders and yellow jackets. I prefer they wake up in the stove. To each his own.


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## Jotel me this (Dec 21, 2018)

velvetfoot said:


> In the house, I use this:



I like that!!


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## Jotel me this (Dec 21, 2018)

Sodbuster said:


> Not me, my wife..doesn't like the wolf spiders and yellow jackets. I prefer they wake up in the stove. To each his own.



yes very true. i didnt think of the bees. may not bee best to store wood in the main area of the home. see what i did there?


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## Sodbuster (Dec 21, 2018)

Jotel me this said:


> yes very true. i didnt think of the bees. may not bee best to store wood in the main area of the home. see what i did there?



Caught that, clever!!


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## CeeDee (Dec 21, 2018)

Termites and black widows are the main concern. I was bitten by a black widow years ago. It made me violently ill for a week. Horrible experience.

I smack each log hard against the wood stack outside before bringing it in. Not sure if I'm knocking off all the crawlies, but hopefully some.


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## blacktail (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep 1-2 days worth in the house. Most of it is in a large Rubbermaid tote with a few more pieces on the hearth. Splits get smacked together to knock spiders off when pulling from the shed.


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## jetsam (Dec 21, 2018)

Lawn tractor trailerload in the garage. My truck is down, so I've been bringing in a load or two of wet freshly split stuff from the woods, stacking it on a woodpile, then filling the trailer up with dry wood from a different stack. If I find some really dry standing or leaning dead stuff, sometimes I just burn it directly.

By the time my next day off rolls around, the trailer is low on dry wood, and I go do it again.

Spiders are welcome.   There don't seem to be any brown recluses or black widows around here.


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## warno (Dec 21, 2018)

My dad has always kept 2-3 pickup truck loads in his basement in the furnace room. Usually we try to knock the frozen dust/bugs/ whatever off the wood if it's present before tossing it through the window.

Most bugs move out after the wood has dried and if they haven't done so by the time it freezes they usually knock right off the pieces with a gentle knock together.


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## Knots (Dec 21, 2018)

I've got four 4x8 racks of wood inside the basement.  It's enough for most of the winter.  It's all bark-free with no bug holes.  All the buggy-looking stuff stays outside and goes directly into the stove, usually at the beginning of the season.

I wait until we have a week of really dry weather in August/September and bring in the top of the stacks to limit the amount of moisture I'm bringing in.  It's all well-seasoned.


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## buc74 (Dec 21, 2018)

I try to keep a few loads in the house, then about 2 face cords in the garage, and the rest stacked and covered next to the garage man door. I do notice some spiders if we start burning early like October. But not so much once it gets cold out. i do need yet to make a bin for the wood, it can get a little more messy this way.


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## Woodsplitter67 (Dec 21, 2018)

Im keeping 1 to 2 days worth in the house near the stove. I keep a rack out back but not next to or leaning on the house.. the rack is inder a covered portion of the patio.. im not a risk taker when it comes to termites, powder post beetles, and carpenter ants...


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## Hasufel (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep a couple days' supply in a built-in wood bin in the house and two hoops in the garage for staging, so it's usually outdoors stacks --> hoops and hoops --> indoors. I wear gloves and use a hand brush to clean off the splits for at least one of those steps, especially if it looks like the splits are dirty or have cobwebs on them. When they're outdoors I can usually find spiders or beetles mixed in but once they've been in the garage for a while the critters seem to lose interest. If I find carpenter ants when I'm bucking a tree I'll leave the rounds far from the house for a few months to be safe but the ants seem to move on within a day or so once their tunnels have been exposed and start drying out.


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## johneh (Dec 21, 2018)

We keep a full 5 cord in the basement to feed the wood 
furnace . Have done so for 40 years never a bug problem 
or anything else. That way no matter what the winter is like I always 
have very dry wood to keep the house warm .


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## jerrieric (Dec 21, 2018)

When I had my wood furnace in the basement I stored 4 or 5 chord of non split wood in the basement for the season. My stove recommended not to split the wood confirm. Stive took 2' logs. Did that for five or six years and never had a bug problem


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## MissMac (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep two tupperware containers of wood in my living room by the stove.  Only bugs in my neck of the woods to be concerned about are ants, but I haven't had an issue yet.  If i have any splits that have active ants in them when i process the wood, they go far away from my shed and rest of stacks until the ants have moved on.


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## darktower007 (Dec 21, 2018)

buc74 said:


> I try to keep a few loads in the house, then about 2 face cords in the garage, and the rest stacked and covered next to the garage man door. I do notice some spiders if we start burning early like October. But not so much once it gets cold out. i do need yet to make a bin for the wood, it can get a little more messy this way.
> View attachment 236285



Is that a telephone plugged into the wood pile on the right side of the picture?[emoji38]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jetsam (Dec 21, 2018)

darktower007 said:


> Is that a telephone plugged into the wood pile on the right side of the picture?



Hello, this is Stove!  What?  No, 1980, you can't have your phone back. I told you, quit calling!


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## SpaceBus (Dec 21, 2018)

Woodsplitter67 said:


> Im keeping 1 to 2 days worth in the house near the stove. I keep a rack out back but not next to or leaning on the house.. the rack is inder a covered portion of the patio.. im not a risk taker when it comes to termites, powder post beetles, and carpenter ants...



Not to mention a fire.


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## EODMSgt (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep about a days worth by the hearth on a rack. Everything else stays outside in the shed. Since I'm outside numerous times a day with the dogs, I usually carry a few pieces in each time. Been doing it this way for years and it works for me.

Since the stove goes pretty much 24/7, I don't need much kindling either. I mainly use fatwood to restart embers if I need to but I have three 33-gallon roller trash cans full of kindling under the deck if needed. I put vents in the sides of the trash cans to get air flow and dry out the kindling. With the winds we have here, there is _always_ kindling in the yard from the oaks and maples.


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## firefighterjake (Dec 21, 2018)

2 weeks or so of wood is stacked on the covered porch . . . which is unheated and partially exposed. The wood stays dry, but it's cold enough that any bugs are pretty much dormant when I first start stacking on the porch.

Every day I bring in a load or two of wood for the woodbox next to the stove. Ten plus years of burning and I have yet to see any bugs emerge from hiding in the wood.


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## SpaceBus (Dec 21, 2018)

My "hearth" setup. The old defiant was too heavy to move out of the house, it's too much for just me and my wife. It works well as a plant stand/cast iron counter top for my kettle and steamer. It also dries out my kindling!


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## CentralVAWoodHeat (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep a 6x4 foot rack safely away from the stove, along an opposite interior wall in our grate room.  I also have another auxiliary rack at the other end inside the house.  This is enough for 10 days in cold weather.

When they get near the bottom, I load the Gator up and drive it round to near the front door and shuttle the wood in by the wheelbarrow load.

Except for occasional ants near spring, we never have any pest issues.

Not a recommendation, just stating how we do it.


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## Dataman (Dec 21, 2018)

I kept 2 Hoops full of Wood.  One Kindling and One Bigger, plus more stacked in front to dry out.  Plus 1 Cord on Back porch.   Too lazy some days when it's COLD or snowing like hell.


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## hickoryhoarder (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep enough on the hearth to get a hot fire going if there's a power outage.  I have maybe 40 splits at any time leaning against the house, on the patio concrete or sidewalk. Both are covered by a very wide soffit.  But that all starts in December, once we've had a lot of weather in the 20s and 30s.  Then, to qualify for inside or against the house, any piece of wood has to be free of bugs (holes are not necessarily bad -- for instance red oak has a lot of little holes from bugs that bore in when the tree was standing).  Learn what termite trails look like. I've never had them on my wood, but I had a termite guy school me.  But I do occasionally get carpenter ants in hickory that's in the stacks a long time.

Any suspect piece stays in the wood stacks on the driveway, thirty feet from the house.  A suspect piece is carried in and set directly in the fire.

Since the wood on the hearth may go the whole winter -- no blizzard or power outage -- I select good looking stuff that will appeal to visitors as they sit in front of the fire.


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## hickoryhoarder (Dec 21, 2018)

buc74 said:


> I try to keep a few loads in the house, then about 2 face cords in the garage, and the rest stacked and covered next to the garage man door. I do notice some spiders if we start burning early like October. But not so much once it gets cold out. i do need yet to make a bin for the wood, it can get a little more messy this way.
> View attachment 236285



Damn!  I thought my stove area looked good. That is gorgeous!


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## buc74 (Dec 21, 2018)

darktower007 said:


> Is that a telephone plugged into the wood pile on the right side of the picture?[emoji38]
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


LOL, the grandson has a thing with keeping the cord stuck in there when he's over.


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## Kevin Weis (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep enough for one day at the most.  Rest stays outside.  Is dry enough it doesn't need to stay inside to dry out more.


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## Chimney Smoke (Dec 21, 2018)

I keep roughly 1/3 of a cord under my stairs in the basement.  Once a week or so I bring a few new wheelbarrow loads in to keep it topped off.  NEver had issues with bugs.  Every once in a while I'll see an ant in the basement but they're easily stepped on.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 22, 2018)

Firewood is in and on top of a hoop in the garage.  Two trash cans of kindling, too.  The insert is in a den fireplace against the garage wall, so the wood is close to the insert.  The stacked wood outside is in three Woodhaven half-cord-plus racks that are in the backyard by the garage.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 22, 2018)

Chimney Smoke said:


> …  Every once in a while I'll see an ant in the basement but they're easily stepped on.



The Outer Limits episode "The Zantis Misfits" scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid.  

Here's a teaser:  .  Full episode is also available online.


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## weatherguy (Dec 22, 2018)

3-4 days in the stove room, weeks worth in the garage and keep rotating, luckily we dont have black widows or brown recluse here or I would have another system.


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## bfitz3 (Dec 22, 2018)

Dry wood shouldn’t have any bugs that matter. Any others get squashed if/when they are found. Killing bugs keeps me from killing humanoid-insects. (Joke. Chill. Don’t call the authorities!)


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## BrianN (Dec 22, 2018)

I have about a weeks worth of 2"x4" and 2"x6" trimblocks I get from work, with a MC of between 7% and 14% in the garage. Then, I have another 2 weeks worth just outside the door, along with 2 weeks worth of dry fire wood. The rest of my trimblocks and firewood (about 12 cords total) in my wood shed, and some covered in the back yard.
Never a problem with bugs, and a lot less mess using the trim blocks. The trim blocks also seem to heat the house a lot better.


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## BIGChrisNH (Dec 22, 2018)

I keep two days of wood in a large box on casters just inside the bulkhead all winter long with a days stack on the hearth next to the stove, bugs be damned. We’ve got mice, spiders, two cats and two dogs anyway, what’s a few bugs?


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## Todd67 (Dec 22, 2018)

I keep two racks on my hearth, one on each side of the stove. It helps dry the wood that gets rain and snow on it outside. This is one of the racks. The other rack is the same.




The rest of my firewood is stored outdoors on pallet racks, with 1/3 cord on my front porch, which is not enclosed.


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## billb3 (Dec 23, 2018)

One day's worth.
Most outdoor bugs die from the lack of humidity in a house.
I've found one spider crawling off a split once and I couldn't say for sure if it came in with the wood or was just checking it out.


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## mass_burner (Dec 23, 2018)

Actually, the only bug I get is what we call stink bugs.  They fly kind of more like buzz from one place to another.  I just catch them and throw them outside. 





velvetfoot said:


> And bugs don't fly, lol.
> 
> Wood is stored in garage.
> In the house, I use this:
> ...



Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk


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## Boxer (Dec 23, 2018)

I keep two weeks worth in the basement utility room. I keep another week in the attached garage. I watch the weather and try to top everything off if we are expecting rain or snow. I’ve never noticed anything except the occasional gnat or stink bug. It’s worth it to me to have a nice supply of warm dry wood inside.


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## jetsam (Dec 23, 2018)

I did another Wood Exchange (trading my stacks some wet stuff for some dry stuff) today.  I really need to get my truck running again...






First load






Second load






Both loads all stacked up






My payout (dry maple and oak for this week, it is supposed to be warm). Picked mostly odds and sods since I will be home one more day than usual.






Aaah! Time to brew some tea and sit by the fire.


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## osagebow (Dec 23, 2018)

We have widows. Lots of 'em. (National Forest) We keep about 2 weeks worth of "clean" wood  in the basement. Any wood with knotholes or cracks they can hide in gets cued up outside and put directly in the stove when convienient. The boys are eagle eyed when bringing wood in. I used to pay ' them 50 cents for each widow they showed me. Now they just squish them with thier work gloves and keep on truckin. Other spiders all get a pass and chucked aside if possible. They just aren't that scary. My kids aren't hardbutts by any stretch, either.

On termites:  they cannot survive/infest from a sound wood floor/concrete/linoleum/tile etc. They need soil and moisture in addition to wood.


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## Ridgewood (Dec 24, 2018)

I got a 1/3 face cord delivered last month; with about 25% of it being stored inside the sunroom. The wood outside is on wood 2x4s to keep it off the slate, and I figured if it gets wet, it will dry within a week or so once I bring it in as I replenish the wood used from the sunroom pile.


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## Slocum (Dec 25, 2018)

We keep 2 totes of wood in garage, we have a 4X4 rack of locust inside basement and a portable rack close to the stove. If the conditions in you your home are fit for wood boring bugs your not going to need to bring them in the house with firewood. They will find you. If black widows were abundant here a may do something different. I do put diatomaceous earth on my stacks once they are put in shed. On occasion I will see a small spider. We live in the woods along a river and have bugs but rarely in our home. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AlbergSteve (Dec 25, 2018)

bfitz3 said:


> Dry wood shouldn’t have any bugs that matter. Any others get squashed if/when they are found. Killing bugs keeps me from killing humanoid-insects. (Joke. Chill. Don’t call the authorities!)


Unfortunately, powder post beetles, of which we have lots, LOVE dry wood, especially your nice hardwood flooring, framing and furniture!


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## Sawset (Dec 25, 2018)

We keep about 3 cords under a shelter out the back door, 3 cords in the attached garage, and 3 days worth near the stove. All of this would have been previously stacked elswhere to dry in the sun for several years. I can't say that I've ever seen any bugs crawl out of any of the dried wood by or in the house.


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## Wood1Dennis (Dec 25, 2018)

johneh said:


> We keep a full 5 cord in the basement to feed the wood
> furnace . Have done so for 40 years never a bug problem
> or anything else. That way no matter what the winter is like I always
> have very dry wood to keep the house warm .


John, I'm with you. My third winter with about 5 cord in the basement. Always warm and dry, no matter the weather. I work hard getting it in and piled in the fall but i have it all right there and ready for the wood furnace all winter. When i was a kid my parents heated with wood, same thing for many years. Never had a problem.

I am a little selective, anything that looks 'buggy' stays outside on the firepit pile or gets burned right away. 99% of what goes in is nice clean hardwood, that probably helps.


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## Dobish (Dec 26, 2018)

i normally stack about 1.5 cord under the covered patio, and then bring in enough for 2 days or so. This year, due to some construction projects, i lost all of my covered outside area, so I have a 4ft x 4ft single rack in the house. i have been bringing up enough for 5-6 days at a time and stacking it there. We have had a pretty mild winter, so I haven't had to even dust off snow more than a handful of times.


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## Woody5506 (Dec 26, 2018)

I keep 1/2 face cord stacked in the garage which is connected to the room my stove is in. I don't stack inside, just use a log carrier and keep those splits by the stove. Usually bring wood in that way twice a day. A lot of my wood gets powder post beatles (mostly the locust) so it's pretty much a mess with dust once it comes in.


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## Dobish (Dec 26, 2018)

Woody5506 said:


> I keep 1/2 face cord stacked in the garage which is connected to the room my stove is in. I don't stack inside, just use a log carrier and keep those splits by the stove. Usually bring wood in that way twice a day. A lot of my wood gets powder post beatles (mostly the locust) so it's pretty much a mess with dust once it comes in.



a lot of the stuff i have brought in this season has had beetles. super annoying, but easier than walking all the way down the hill out back for a load full of wood.


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## Woody5506 (Dec 26, 2018)

Dobish said:


> a lot of the stuff i have brought in this season has had beetles. super annoying, but easier than walking all the way down the hill out back for a load full of wood.



No matter how many times you smack the pieces together that dust just keeps spilling out.


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## heavy hammer (Jan 1, 2019)

I like to keep a couple weeks worth in the garage stacked next to the tractor.  That way I know it is dry and easy to get to especially for my wife if I'm working.  When my mother in law used to watch our little girls during the day I would have three or four, five gallon buckets with wood for her to keep the main floor stove going, she loved it and we never really worried about bugs.  Just sweep up the mess that's all.


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## Sodbuster (Jan 1, 2019)

I keep a 4' x 8' rack filled in the garage, will stack it higher if inclement weather is heading in. I have had box elder bugs, stink bugs, spiders, hornets, and mosquitoes wake up in my firewood, even while in the garage, So I'll keep it were it is, and yes we are now blessed with the brown recluse spider here in Michigan, so don't get complacent.


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## Chippy Chaser (Jan 1, 2019)

The only wood I bring inside is cut up pallets & finely split pine that I use for starters. 
I hate bugs, they can freeze or burn, not crawl around my house.


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## AlbergSteve (Jan 1, 2019)

Split a bit of wood today. This is why I don't store wood anywhere near or in the house.


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## Dobish (Jan 2, 2019)

AlbergSteve said:


> Split a bit of wood today. This is why I don't store wood anywhere near or in the house.
> 
> View attachment 237204



i had some of those the other day....


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## AlbergSteve (Jan 2, 2019)

Then today I decided to split some Arbutus(madrone) and it's full of flatheaded borer larvae.


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## macattack_ga (Jan 3, 2019)

about a 1/4? cord on the porch (2 weeks), and the "wagon" inside (2 or 3 days).


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## Dobish (Jan 3, 2019)

here is my current setup. i try and keep the bugs away from the 200year old barn board.


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## gerry100 (Jan 3, 2019)

1 or 2 days supply next to the stove.

Possibly 3-4 in anticipation of a big snow fall


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## Manly (Jan 3, 2019)

gerry100 said:


> 1 or 2 days supply next to the stove.
> 
> Possibly 3-4 in anticipation of a big snow fall



That’s what we keep in the house. I end up handling our wood so much by time we burn it, its been pretty closely inspected for any and everything. For many years, actually decades, we always had spiders in the house and attributed it to the wood. We just lived with it, although occasionally a big one would emerge. Late last summer we had an outdoor infestation of box elder bugs appear for the first time. After some quick research I sprayed the foundation perimeter with an Ortho product. Have not had a single spider in the house since. All the time we thought we were bringing them in when they were brining themselves in.


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## weatherguy (Jan 3, 2019)

Manly said:


> That’s what we keep in the house. I end up handling our wood so much by time we burn it, its been pretty closely inspected for any and everything. For many years, actually decades, we always had spiders in the house and attributed it to the wood. We just lived with it, although occasionally a big one would emerge. Late last summer we had an outdoor infestation of box elder bugs appear for the first time. After some quick research I sprayed the foundation perimeter with an Ortho product. Have not had a single spider in the house since. All the time we thought we were bringing them in when they were brining themselves in.


I spray my foundation twice a year with demon xp and have had very few spiders since, theres always a stray that works it's way through somehow.


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## Slow burn (Jan 5, 2019)

The entire winters worth of wood is stored in the basement. I have been doing it for 5 years and dad did it in the same house for 30+ years. 

I like loading my stove in my slippers all winter long. 

As far as bugs go we have gotten a few lady bugs in the spring and a few of the stink bugs but they don’t bother us much.


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## They Call Me Pete (Jan 6, 2019)

As a kid we would put the entire winters worth in the basement. Around 4 cords. I keep a 1/2 cord on the front porch and stove is right inside the front door.


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## billb3 (Jan 8, 2019)

AlbergSteve said:


> Split a bit of wood today. This is why I don't store wood anywhere near or in the house.
> 
> View attachment 237204




They'll only bite your toes if they are sticking out of the blankets.


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## KJamesJR (Jan 8, 2019)

Yes. I keep a stack near the stove. It's been an extremely wet/warm winter.

I would think you would know if you were bringing wood in infested with pests. Specially if you're the one splitting and stacking it. Heavily infested wood isn't easily ignored. A few termite species, not really an issue so long as the wood framing in your home isn't already suffering from dampness or water damage. Most will dehydrate and die.

Other pests are a different story. I swear the first cord of wood I ever had delivered had packrats. Ever since the guy dumped it in our driveway we've had a little family move in under our porch.


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## Eater309 (Jan 9, 2019)

I keep about three face cord in the garage and a stack next to the stove.
For two years now I have found a baby snake (only 1 each year) in the garage when temps get in the 50s outside.
Have never seen one in the house or stove. Lol.  Really odd I only see one and never any large ones when working up the wood. Happy about that too.


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## KindredSpiritzz (Jan 9, 2019)

I keep 6 full cords in the basement "wood room" about 20 ft from the main floor wood stove, i also keep  3 or 4 arm loads by the stove during the day. I get the occasional spider or web but its a small price to pay for the convenience  of having my wood inside and close to the stove. Ash dust is more of a problem in the house than are insects.


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