Any tips for keeping insects out of wood piles?
I have some pear that's been seasoning about 18 months and it's infested with carpenter ants.
I have some pear that's been seasoning about 18 months and it's infested with carpenter ants.
pyper said:Any tips for keeping insects out of wood piles?
I have some pear that's been seasoning about 18 months and it's infested with carpenter ants.
Wood Duck said:First thing I'd do is tear down the stack and see exactly where the ants are living. My guess is they are in moist wood near the bottom of the stack
kalevi said:Carpenter ants need moisture. They tunnel into wet/rotting wood. If you do as advised and find the infested ones (probably wet ones at the bottom) and restack on something that can raise the stack of the ground, you won't have carpenter ants anymore. This also applies to your house. If you have ants, you have moist rotting wood.
pyper said:Wood Duck said:First thing I'd do is tear down the stack and see exactly where the ants are living. My guess is they are in moist wood near the bottom of the stack
I would have thought that too, but they seem to be pretty much everywhere (I can tell by the wood dust that's under the various pieces). If anything, they're tending more towards the top of the pile than the bottom. I used concrete blocks to keep the wood off the ground (so at least I don't have termites!).
The pile is in the shade though. I made a new pile from recently cut trees and put it well away from this pile. The new pile will have afternoon sun. It's the only seasoned wood I have, so I'm burning it in the stove. Figure the ants won't have too much impact on how the wood burns. It's still solid wood, just with ant tunnels through it... But I can't bring it near the house until it's ready to go into the stove!
Backwoods Savage said:That wood dust you see is not caused by ants, it is caused by powder post beetles and they are harmless.