How to keep insects out of stored firewood?

[Obser]

A friend has lots of tops left after logging on her land and has a large shed to store it. If we cut, split and stack a few year’s supply for her, how can we keep wood eating insects from attacking the wood?

 

[danrclem]

That's a good question. I read another post that said taking the bark off would keep bugs out. I think I'll try it because I try to cut ahead and burn the oldest first. There may other ways too. So far I haven't had any real big problems and have kept wood for about 2 years.

 

[RoosterBoy]

i don't think insects like dry wood. if you keep it off the ground covered
it will dry fast. and insects wont want it. they like there wood wet ;-)

but i may be wrong hopefully someone will answer
because it's a good question

thanks
Jason

 

[12guns]

If termites get ahold of it, that's all she wrote. If you really want to protect it, get some of that cheap crap from lowes, or tractor supply that you soak the ground w/ to protect against termites. It's not as good as the old stuff, but it should do the trick. as for beetles and such, keep it elevated a bit, maybe even put a layer of old shingles on the ground under the stack and hope for the best. If you're real serious, spray around the pile for insects.

 

[Big Woody]

If you want to keep the wood boring insects off it and it is covered so it won't be rained on, spray it with Timbor. It is $ 6 - $7 for a bag of powder which you mix with a gallon of water. When the beetle larvea bore into the wood they are killed by the boric acid. This stuff sits on the wood surface so repeated rain will wash it off. You won't be able to cover all the wood surface but enough so it will kill most of them. You can buy it at an ag chemical supply house.

Most/some of these beetle larvae are in the wood for 3-5 years so if you burn it in 1-2 years they really won't have emerged yet. Powder post beetles, old house borers and death watch beetles are the most common here in central USA so you can get more info on these from google.

 

[1CallLandscape]

rooster boys right get it dry as fast as you can . I like to stack my wood on
4 by 4 pressure treated posts layed sideways on the ground the PT really repels the bugs as well as keeping the wood off of the moist ground. if you dont have alot of wood you can criss cross stack it in tower like structures

 

[turnkey4099]

I can't speak to termites but for all other species, bugs eating wood are a non-problem if it will be burned in a year or two. They just won't eat that much wood in such a short time.

Wood that is dry and stored in a shed will not deteriorate from bugs or anything else to a noticeable degree in only 2 years. Again, I don't know about termites.

Harry K