While spitting a round I came across with one with center that was infested with termites. What do you guys do with those spits? Throw it on your wood pile and not worry about it? Keep it separate from the rest of my wood? It’s going to need to aged for a year.
Newbie question on wood storage
- Thread starter wmk1956
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If I knew for sure they were termites, I'd take the wood somewhere to dump it. Else call an exterminator.
Dunno about spits, but Spitz are another thing.Wmk1956 said:
http://www.indyprops.com/pp-spitz1.jpg
All righty then you have a few close by neighbors, wood cutters you dont carefor ?Wmk1956 said:
Just exchange your wood for theres .
Oh and leave a few crackers for lunch .
Termites exist just about everywhere in the US (literally). I don't think taking the termites to another location will make any difference...just dump them a little ways from the woodpile.
No real termites here . . . we do get carpenter ants in some wood though. If I'm splitting in the woods I'll often leave the wood in a pile with the rest of the wood . . . usually by the time I return a few days later the ants are MIA . . . if I'm splitting and stacking wood around the home I'll typically toss the wood to the side and stack it several days or weeks later.
Regarding where termites are found (from Wikipedia):
"Globally, termites are found roughly between 50 degrees North & South, with the greatest biomass in the tropics and the greatest diversity in tropical forests and Mediterranean shrublands. Termites are also considered to be a major source of atmospheric methane, one of the prime greenhouse gases. Termites have been common since at least the Cretaceous period. Termites also eat bone and other parts of carcasses, and their traces have been found on dinosaur bones from the middle Jurassic in China."
50 degrees north includes (roughly) Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Saskatchewan, so if you're south of there, there are termites.
"Globally, termites are found roughly between 50 degrees North & South, with the greatest biomass in the tropics and the greatest diversity in tropical forests and Mediterranean shrublands. Termites are also considered to be a major source of atmospheric methane, one of the prime greenhouse gases. Termites have been common since at least the Cretaceous period. Termites also eat bone and other parts of carcasses, and their traces have been found on dinosaur bones from the middle Jurassic in China."
50 degrees north includes (roughly) Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Saskatchewan, so if you're south of there, there are termites.
I have never seen a termite and had never seen a cockroach until I went to Disneyworld for one of those robot competitions. Ticks, nope don't have them either. However, I have heard guys with rental properties in the city have to deal with such pests.
Termites are pretty uncommon here in PA - I have not seen ANY in the 12 cords of scrounged wood in my backyard, which represents probably a hundred different trees of almost every species of tree that grows here. Lots of Carpenter Ants, no termites. Still, if I did find some termites I'd split the wood smaller, trying to break up their tunnels as much as possible, and toss the splits out in the sun. I'd turn the splits a few times over the next week or two until I didn't see any more termites, then I'd stack it up with the rest of the firewood. That is what I do for Carpenter Ants and i think it is working.
p.s. as a scrougner I often get only a few pieces of wood from a tree - I am not saying that I cut 100 trees were 1/10 of a cord apiece
p.s. as a scrougner I often get only a few pieces of wood from a tree - I am not saying that I cut 100 trees were 1/10 of a cord apiece
firefighterjake said:
Same here. Hardware/Ag stores don't even carry anti-termite products. I did have an acquaintance insist to me a couple years ago that her exterminator told her she had termites, not carpenter ants, but don't know how reliable she or her exterminator are with their terminology. I get my wood c/d/s, and maybe twice I've found a couple pieces with carpenter ants in them, but I either carry them directly in and toss them in the stove or just toss 'em a little distance and go back for them later and they're gone.
firefighterjake said:
If we have more warm winters like this last one, we might see 'em. Just seen Canadian Geese flying over yesterday. Seems too early, but I am liking the nice days.
flyingcow said:
Huge El Nino year, major Arctic oscillation, etc., made most of N America have a colder than normal winter, while Canada and a few of us northernmost states had slightly warmer. VT has averaged out as about normal, I read. If the geese are early, they're trying to get away from the cold down south! Interesting winter temperature graphic here: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html
Termites like wet wood and cannot tolerate access to air. By cutting, splitting and stacking the wood to dry, you would disrupt a colony enough to kill it provided that when you stacked it there was no way for a termite colony to access the wood directly via the soil.
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