Wood Bugs and Termites?

[HearthKB]

Hey guys and gals... I have a quick question for you.

It took a lot of persuading to get my wife to agree about purchasing a wood burning stove. I won that battle. But... My wife just asked me a question that I don't have an answer to and I need some help.

What do you do to protect your wood piles from termites or carpenter ants? Heaven help me if I bring termites into my home!

 

[caber]

Well, other than stacking them off the ground - nothing. We don't keep a lot of wood in the house but if I do see some very sluggish ants moving about on a piece of wood, I pop it in the stove.

 

[RedRanger]

Like Caber says-keep your wood off the ground. Only bring in limited amounts that is gonna get burned up within the next 4-12 hours or so. And wood with bark, any wood, that is punky, burn it straight away.

 

[K31Scout]

I have my wood stacked under a lean 2 on the garage. Any wood I bring in the house to store overnight goes into a nice looking, tight wooden box that has a bit of bug spray applied regularly.

 

[RedRanger]

I have my wood stacked under a lean 2 on the garage. Any wood I bring in the house to store overnight goes into a nice looking, tight wooden box that has a bit of bug spray applied regularly.

Don`t even have to do that. Just sprinkle a little borax on the bottom of that box. Safe, harmless to people and no worries,mate!

 

[HearthKB]

I have my wood stacked under a lean 2 on the garage. Any wood I bring in the house to store overnight goes into a nice looking, tight wooden box that has a bit of bug spray applied regularly.

Don`t even have to do that. Just sprinkle a little borax on the bottom of that box. Safe, harmless to people and no worries,mate!

That's it? Just sprinkle a little borax in there and I'm set? Just curious; do the bugs crap out when they touch the stuff or breath the fumes from it?

 

[mtarbert]

I mixed a water/TSP solution and sprayed it onto an ant infested stack (they were in the wood prior to stacking) of red oak a couple of months ago. I have not seen any ants on my piles since. AND TSP is the same compound in most anti creosote powders that we sprinkle on hot coals .
Mike

 

[johnsopi]

My woodpiles are dirty, every nasty crawling thing you every what to see. The good thing is as soon as the cold weather gets here they don't move and they burn well.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

My woodpiles are dirty, every nasty crawling thing you every what to see. The good thing is as soon as the cold weather gets here they don't move and they burn well.

Ah, yup! I'll second that one. We simply don't worry about it.

Oh, we do kill some roaches from time to time as we're getting wood off the pile but that's about it. Even those are a non-issue most of the time.

Once 24 hour wood burning begins, I'll bring wood to the porch and stack it at the end. As the stove gets hungry, we simply open the door, take 3 steps and grab what wood we need. Works great and that stack of wood by the porch also acts as a wind break for us...and no bug problems.

 

[pen]

Carpenter ants will only live in wood that is really wet and rotting (you wouldn't be burning this). And they will only feed on similar wood in your house. So unless you have already bad wood, (like around a leaking toilet) they wouldn't have anything to feed on anyway.

I live in an area without termites so I cannot comment there.

But after one hell of a shock last year, I can comment about ASH and the bark borers that they contain. If you have access to ASH let it season a full year before bringing it into the house. Ash is known by many old timers as being the go-to wood in a last resort if something needs to be burned that is a bit on the wet/green side. However, as I learned by filling one vac cleaner bag after another, the borers that live just under the bark will come to life and annoy your to no end with their dust and presence in windows. They won't hurt the house since all the wood is dried, however they do make the wife get a bit unsettled.

pen

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Pen, no offense meant here, but you might be talking about post beetles rather than the ash borer. Those beetles will certainly make a lot of dust. If you really want them bad, get some elm. They love to bore in this stuff. Also, lots of handles for things like forks, rakes, post hole diggers, etc. are made from ash. Guess what happens to them in time. Post beetles!

 

[pen]

Pen, no offense meant here, but you might be talking about post beetles rather than the ash borer. Those beetles will certainly make a lot of dust. If you really want them bad, get some elm. They love to bore in this stuff. Also, lots of handles for things like forks, rakes, post hole diggers, etc. are made from ash. Guess what happens to them in time. Post beetles!

My mistake, it is the bark beetle I was trying to describe. My apologies. That's what I get for staying up past my bedtime.

here is a link to their description. (broken link removed)

Here is a link to a pic of the bark beetle I find in ash. (broken link removed)


pen

 

[HearthKB]

Thanks for the comments.

Right now I'm trying to decide on whether or not I want to stack a face cord in the garage which is part of my house. There is a door connected to my kitchen. It does get pretty cold in there so maybe I won't have any bug problems.

Or... I might want to purchase a Suncaster Deck Box and fill it with wood and leave it outside on the deck which is connect to the room with the stove in it. The only problem I see in this is that the box only holds about 10 cubic feet. So I would probably be filling it up all the time.

I want to figure out the best way to keep the wife satisfied with a bug free house. Wife Happy=Me Happy=Happy Burning Season.

 

[WidowMaker]

Borax?

As in 20 Mule Team soap???

 

[Bill]

I use the deck boxes for kindling, had two feet of snow and ice on them last year couldn't open it. Good thing I got a pole barn full of kindling or I would of been screwed.

 

[Valhalla]

In review, keep your wood dry and with no direct ground contact. Racks or pallets work great. Always use your oldest wood first.

 

[Brian VT]

A bunch of pieces in my delivery look like they've been shot with a .22 semi-auto. Is this from post beetles ?
I have it all stacked between my deck posts. Should I expect to see the buggers in my house ? Should I move my stacks (3 cord) ? :-(

 

[FISHBONZ]

My dealer told me it was a good idea to bring about 2 days worth of wood inside. 1. When it's freezing ouside it's nice to have it right there. 2. Letting it warm up and dry out from the snow getting on it will help it burn better.
I did this last season and noticed very few bugs. They seemed to move around like I just woke them up and were easily captured and sent to the gallows.