Hickory Holes

[Bushels20]

My splits of hickory I noticed today have holes bored in to them. Obviously an insect, is this common? It seems to only be on the hickory which is mixed with other hardwood (red oak, cherry, ash, maple).

Photo attached.

 

[Medic21]

My splits of hickory I noticed today have holes bored in to them. Obviously an insect, is this common? It seems to only be on the hickory which is mixed with other hardwood (red oak, cherry, ash, maple).

Photo attached.

Bugs love Hickory. Great firewood, btu per pound is higher than oak but, use it in two years or you will have insect problems. Carpenter bees love it around here.


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[Lakeside]

I tried hickory a few years ago and soon learned the it will turn into dust if the bugs get into it. As much as the high BTU's are enticing it it not tops on my list.

 

[Bushels20]

Forgot to add the photos.

So....carpenter bees and use the wood once seasoned? Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[Medic21]

I tried hickory a few years ago and soon learned the it will turn into dust if the bugs get into it. As much as the high BTU's are enticing it it not tops on my list.

I will spray malathion on it when I stack and again in the late spring the next year. It seasons fairly quick and I burn it the second winter.


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[Simonkenton]

Those are carpenter bees. Hickory is a great firewood. I got a big truck load of it two years ago, first time I had ever burned hickory. I was dismayed to see lots of bugs in the wood, they were putting out lots of powder. These were little bugs that made holes in the bark, some kind of hickory bark beetle.

I am going to skip hickory in the future.

 

[Ashful]

I hate hickory for this reason. It’s a bug magnet. What good is dense high-BTU wood, if it’s turned to dust and Swiss cheese before you can use it?

That said, I just dragged home 6 cords of the crap over the last month, as a favor to the people who needed it removed.

 

[Ashful]

I will spray malathion on it when I stack and again in the late spring the next year.

Not familiar with that particular product, but in general, it is a very bad idea to spray pesticides on firewood. In fact, I believe it is illegal, in most cases. Check your product label.

 

[Medic21]

Not familiar with that particular product, but in general, it is a very bad idea to spray pesticides on firewood. In fact, I believe it is illegal, in most cases. Check your product label.

It’s a non restricted organophosphate. One of the oldest pesticides available and one of the few that work allowed to be sold to the public.

As far as the label....

Who reads that?

In all honesty it’s great with diesel fuel sprayed on standing water for mosquito control and that is actually a labeled use. It’s also used in crops with a 30 day exclusion. The biggest label restriction is area application to yards. Would not be good for kids or pets.


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[hickoryhoarder]

Not familiar with that particular product, but in general, it is a very bad idea to spray pesticides on firewood. In fact, I believe it is illegal, in most cases. Check your product label.

Amen. Don't under-estimate the health problems you can cause with insecticides.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Carpenter ants love my hickory if it's outside more than two years.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Get the bark off of it quickly and split it. Hickory rots very quickly with the bark on and not split, usually within two years.

 

[David.Ervin]

My hickory gets little piles of sawdust in and around it no matter how dry I keep it. Not sure what the heck is eating it, but I get little black pinholes that show if I resplit a bigger piece. Definitely run into a couple hickory borer beetle larvae when working up green stuff, but they're big and make a nasty mess when you find one with the axe.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Powder Post Beetle have a liking for them as well. They will leave when the wood dries out. Would not soak it with pesticides. Just keep it outside till your ready to burn.

 

[C.W.S.]

Any chance that the tunnels left by the bugs help to shorten seasoning time?

 

[Simonkenton]

I saw and split a lot of my wood. But, there are a couple of local guys who will bring you a dump truck load for $250. This is a dump truck with a bed 8 x 8 foot, wood stacked 2 feet high. It is a hell of a lot of wood.
So I also get one or two of these dump truck loads every year. Usually oak, sometimes cherry with some beech.

But, two years ago I got a load of fresh hickory. I never messed with hickory before because it is too difficult for me to split with my maul. But, it is top rated firewood.
So I had this load of hickory, I stacked it up in the carport wood pile. And in a few months I noticed the stack covered with powder sawdust. Some kind of damn beetle in the bark. I have had this stuff for 2 years and it is now dry and I will burn it all up quick as I can this winter I am sick of the damn bugs.

I will never mess with hickory again.

 

[Ashful]

Any chance that the tunnels left by the bugs help to shorten seasoning time?

Now there’s a “glass half full” guy, if I’ve ever seen one!

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Now there’s a “glass half full” guy, if I’ve ever seen one!

There was a thread at one point, I believe a few years back, where someone asked about drilling holes in their firewood to speed seasoning time.

This is just nature’s way of doing that.

 

[Bushels20]

I saw and split a lot of my wood. But, there are a couple of local guys who will bring you a dump truck load for $250. This is a dump truck with a bed 8 x 8 foot, wood stacked 2 feet high. It is a hell of a lot of wood.
So I also get one or two of these dump truck loads every year. Usually oak, sometimes cherry with some beech.

But, two years ago I got a load of fresh hickory. I never messed with hickory before because it is too difficult for me to split with my maul. But, it is top rated firewood.
So I had this load of hickory, I stacked it up in the carport wood pile. And in a few months I noticed the stack covered with powder sawdust. Some kind of damn beetle in the bark. I have had this stuff for 2 years and it is now dry and I will burn it all up quick as I can this winter I am sick of the damn bugs.

I will never mess with hickory again.

Not sure what a cord of wood cost in your area delivered but for $250, that’s exactly what you’re getting. A cord. 8’ x 8’ x 2’ = 128 cubic feet. (1 cord). The same as 4x4x8. 4’ x 4’ x 8’ = 128 cubic feet.

 

[Simonkenton]

I compare the dump truck to Nissan truck loads. I have a 4WD Nissan Frontier.
And I had a real good firewood score a month ago, posted it right here. Big locust tree down in a lady's yard, right next to the road.
My brother and I went over there, beautiful firewood, no rot, 20 inch diameter. Just a huge locust, biggest I have ever cut and I have cut a lot of locust. I sawed it up and brother rough split it. Took an hour an a half.
We each got a truck load, he also has a Frontier.

Free wood, right? Well, it was 30 miles away, and you WILL spend 50 cents a mile, like it or not. Gas, tire wear, oil changes, brake jobs. So it cost $30 just to drive over there, and took one hour.
An hour and a half of hard work, man, that dry locust is really hard to cut even with the big Stihl.
Got back, took another hour to split the wood small as I unloaded it.

So, free wood that cost $30 [I will leave out chain saw costs, of course that would be a couple of bucks.]
Took one hour of driving time and 2 1/2 hours of hard work.

In comparison, I snap my fingers and the dump truck pulls up and dumps a huge firewood pile right next to my woodshed, all fresh cut with no rot, and split ready to burn. Also, it is not hemlock or poplar it is good firewood. $250.
The dump truck holds 5 Nissan truck loads.

 

[Bushels20]

I compare the dump truck to Nissan truck loads. I have a 4WD Nissan Frontier.
And I had a real good firewood score a month ago, posted it right here. Big locust tree down in a lady's yard, right next to the road.
My brother and I went over there, beautiful firewood, no rot, 20 inch diameter. Just a huge locust, biggest I have ever cut and I have cut a lot of locust. I sawed it up and brother rough split it. Took an hour an a half.
We each got a truck load, he also has a Frontier.

Free wood, right? Well, it was 30 miles away, and you WILL spend 50 cents a mile, like it or not. Gas, tire wear, oil changes, brake jobs. So it cost $30 just to drive over there, and took one hour.
An hour and a half of hard work, man, that dry locust is really hard to cut even with the big Stihl.
Got back, took another hour to split the wood small as I unloaded it.

So, free wood that cost $30 [I will leave out chain saw costs, of course that would be a couple of bucks.]
Took one hour of driving time and 2 1/2 hours of hard work.

In comparison, I snap my fingers and the dump truck pulls up and dumps a huge firewood pile right next to my woodshed, all fresh cut with no rot, and split ready to burn. Also, it is not hemlock or poplar it is good firewood. $250.
The dump truck holds 5 Nissan truck loads.

I guess it just depends on how you view the work and effort involved to acquire your firewood. Driving 30 miles and hand busting a 20 inch locust is no easy task. That’s for sure! There was a time where I would have done the same.

One $250 hit to the wallet (paying for firewood) negates roughly a whole month of electric bill savings in our household. Our electric bill (prior to wood heat 8 years ago) would run around $450 a month during December through March. We are an all electric house (heat pump). We are now down around the $175-$200 mark during these months; using nothing but wood heat.

That said, I used to heat with wood to save some cash when the wife and I were young and not yet established; I now heat with wood because I love it. The savings are nice but I wouldn’t stop heating with wood if I suddenly stopped saving on the electric bill. The same can be said for cutting and splitting. Most think I am nuts, but I love it. But I also have 15 foot logs delivered right to the house for free (via a good friend). But if not for free there are plenty of logging companies/tree companies that would charge about $600-$700 for a grapple load of logs (about 5 cords) and drop it in the yard. Money far better spent IMHO.

No matter how you view it, be it a dump truck or 5 Nissans full, you’re still paying $250 for a delivered cord. In my parts that’s a fair price but I also haven’t paid for firewood in 6-7 years so it may be up in price a bit.

 

[Simonkenton]

I need to look in to having a truck load of tree trunks delivered to my yard. I do like to cut and split firewood.

 

[Ashful]

You need to value your time pretty poorly, if you consider this “work”, and are doing it just to save money. I’m burning more wood to heat more space than most, but it’s still not amounting to nearly as much money as I could make with the same amount of time, with almost any other endeavor.

I do it because I enjoy having wood heat, and would rather spend my time away from work handling firewood, than managing investments or working another desk job. The money saved, if any is really saved after the investment in equipment and stoves and chimneys, might be nothing more than a nice bonus to justify the lifestyle. Simon, in your case, you forgot to include a good time with your brother in your assets column.

 

[Simonkenton]

So now I get a lecture from you, on how I value my time. Next time I want some advice from you I will send you a telegram.

 

[Ashful]

So now I get a lecture from you, on how I value my time. Next time I want some advice from you I will send you a telegram.

Lecture? I wasn’t aware that your postings to a public forum are to be answered by private invitation, only.