chopping wood and stacking questions

[southernsibe]

I have gotten a log splitter. I love it. I can now make use of the fallen logs and what the loggers left behind. My only problem is that wood that has been laying around the property has bugs, all sorts. Termites, and other unidentifiable things. I don't want to let these spread or contaminate the wood that hasn't got bugs. Or, infest the house or wood on the outside of the house. I have read one suggestion on line that says to cover the whole pile with a tarp and set off a bug bomb. This is obviously not organic, but the poster said it worked well. Are there any suggestions? I am making sure to stack it up off the ground, and I'm actually trying to make one of those conical wood piles.

thanks
Rachel

 

[SandraChick]

I've never bothered dealing with any insects...although in some areas...you may need to worry about termites if you have them....

Lots of bugs are there just below the bark and often you have many more bugs in humid to wet conditions.

It's never good to stack wood against your house- not only for bugs, but the wood stacks often become good homes for mice, rats, and other wildlife.

Splitting the wood will do much to control the bugs...I tend to stack my wood on pallets, so the firewood is not directly on the ground. Also, splitting it opens it up for better drying- which is not only good to rid yourself of many bugs, but for burning. You'll aways have some bugs- especially the rolly polly's and spiders...but those are not a real concern if you're just going to burn it anyway.

I have a small stack of wood by the front door that is out of the rain. It's small enough that we go through it every 2-3 weeks so nothing can truly take up residence. The rest is stacked outside in either the wood port (like a small carport) or stacked and covered with a tarp in a way that there is still air flow through the lower part..

Have fun with your splitter!
Sandra

 

[3peeps]

If it's been wet and sitting in the woods, I'm wondering if certain bugs that are in the wood might leave once it starts to dry. You will probably never get rid of them all, and I like the suggestions made by sandrachick. We bring in only small loads at a time and keep the big pile out at the end of our fenced yard, maybe 30 feet from the house. Now, if the wood is totally infested, I would wonder if it's that great to burn anyway. A few bugs, yes. An entire city as in the wood is soft and rotten? I'd probably leave it and go for fresher wood. Just my personal opinion.

We had a neighbor who was nice enough to lend us his splitter and then take the time to teach us how to use it. Be careful not to get hit with any flying pieces! We had some difficult wood to split, with knots and forks in the logs and I had no idea how much force split wood can have if you're not careful. Glad I got advanced warning. You probably already know that, but passing it along just in case.

What do you mean by a conical pile? Is it one of those round ones where all you see is the ends?

 

[Wooden_Pony]

Up at our cabin there is a beetle that kills the pine trees. When we have to have the trees chopped down, due to them being killed by these beetles we stack the logs and then cover the wood stack with black plastic. The black plastic of course absorbs the heat from the sunshine and cooks the beetles.

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Isn't the log splitters nice. We don't have one, but we borrow our neighbors. My hubby puts an old ladder on our back patio to stack the wood on to keep it off the ground. I don't think we've had any termites in the logs around our house, but we do have bores occassionally.......they go snap, crackle, and pop when we burn them.

 

[southernsibe]

The greatest problem is termites. Those are the ones I am most concerned about. Any ideas for those? I don't use any wood that has readily visible infestations. That I sort of chuck to the side and let rot in the ground. It goes to good use that way, better then me dealing with it and trying to bring it into the house.
Rachel

 

[tink]

Hey... If you get the wood up off the ground and it starts to dry after being split.....your termites will go away. Most termites need moisture to survive.
Tink

 

[speckledhen]

When we split wood, which we glean from our acreage, we leave it spread around in a loose pile and the chickens work it over. They love that!

 

[southernsibe]

Tink,
How far from the house should I make sure the wood is to guard against the bugs migrating to the hosue? I would really have a problem then.

The conical stacking is called a holz hausen. http://www.chimneykeepers.com/images/holz_hausen.pdf

Rachel

 

[tink]

Let me ask my hubby tonight and I will let you know. Our firewood is about 15 feet away from our house and up on a stand so there is no moisture and we dont have any problems and we have a log home!
Tink