Firewood question

[Mike mandry]

Posted this in the tre care forum & did not get any replys......

Question about insects

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello all,

My firewood is all infested with those pesty borer worms. The ones that look like grubworms in the wood & then turn in to a beetle & chew thier way out making sawdust all over the place & then start all over again.

Will these attack/infest my healthy (so far) trees in my yard ??

I have 5 silver maples in the back (aprox 45 feet tall) that are my only source of much needed shade in the summer. Also have an inmature pin oak (aprox 8 years old) & a red oak (35 ft)

I cant stand the thought of losing any of these trees due to these things.

My firewood is a mix of maple, elm, cherry & oak. Some of it is very close to these trees.

Any advice appreciated.

Oh yeah, i cut the firewood with my "Chainsaw"

Mike

 

[TonyM]

Are you talking about the Ash Borer Beetle? The one we are having all the trouble with in Michigan? Or is this some other type, like powder post beetle (so I've heard them called)? What species is your firewood? The Ash Borer won't infest other than ash trees. I wonder if other types of beetles are that particular?

 

[Mike mandry]

Thanks Tony, They might be the post beetle. I,m really not sure.

Ive got about 4 cords right now. Stacked in various locations in the back yard.

Oak, hickory, cherry, elm, maple & some walnut.

I first noticed them in my pile of Oak. It was a healthy pin oak that I cut down for a friend at work (she wanted it gone)

Now they are also in the maple (i cut it early last spring)

These are the borer worms that grow in the wood & then turn into the beetle & chew thier way out leaving the powdery "Sawdust" mess.

http://websearcht.cs.com/wm/boomfra...edu/pestprofiles/chewing/borbeet/borbeet.html

 

[TonyM]

I had those nasty things in the oak firewood I had in my barn, and they got into the oak beams in barn. If you take a chunk of wood and stand it on end, a bunch of fine powder pours out of all these little holes, right? Since you noticed them in the oak first, maybe we are talking about the same thing. I think that particular beetle tends to stay away from otherwise healthy trees, but likes to get into dead or dying wood, like firewood and barn posts.

 

[TonyM]

Check this out.

powderpost beetle

Says they like Oak!

 

[Al Smith]

If I am not mistaken,and I am often,powder post beetles ,only get in drying wood,that has a moisture content,such as lumber stacks,firewood,old ,air dried structures.I don't think they attack living trees.I got some in some lumber that I didn't sticker properly.You might want to "google" it.I think you are too far south to worry about the emerald ash borer,for now,at least.

 

[Mike mandry]

Yep, thats what i got Tony,

When I saw the dust on the pin oak I thought that was the beetle attacking the wood.

After i did the research, I found that they were actually leaving. So, they must have been in the wood when i got it. I noticed it about 2 months after i cut the tree down. And, like i aid it was a healthy looking pin oak.

They can eat my fireood all they want, as long as they leave my trees alone.

I split some of my maple the other day (that I cut this last spring) & it had some mall inmature borers in it, so they must have just got in there this summer.

This is the wood that I have stacked about 5 feet from my "Healthy" maples in the back yard.

I will probably spray the trees in the spring to be safe.


thanks for the input guys

Mike

 

[tony marks]

mabe sprayiing the wood pile with an gas spray mite stop them where they are.
i dont advise thisif you are expecting kids or grandkids to be there.. mite like to play with matches..not a good thot.. still the gas will evaporate quickly..just a thought..

 

[max2cam]

I see those under-the-bark white grubs (powderpost beetles?) all the time on DEAD pines and other trees. They aren't a problem for live healthy trees but go after dead or injured wood.

Once your firewood pile dries out they should be gone. If your firewood is damp/green enough to support live powderpost beetle larve, it's probably too green/wet to burn anyway.

Those grubs are actually useful because they loosen up the bark and if you catch them right they will debark a log for you so the bark falls right off but the log is still sound and with a few worm holes and some discoloring on it. Good enough for rough work. Also knock that grub infested bark off and the chickedees will come in for an easy meal.

 

[tawilson]

Those grubs look like they'd make good fish bait.

 

[David_T (MO)]

Those grubs look like they'd make good fish bait.

The adult is only 1/4 inch long (true the grub might be a tad bit longer) and the holes they leave behind are 1/32 to 1/16 th inch. I'd hate to try and get that on a hook.

 

[max2cam]

The adult is only 1/4 inch long (true the grub might be a tad bit longer) and the holes they leave behind are 1/32 to 1/16 th inch. I'd hate to try and get that on a hook.

I've seen two sizes of these white under-the-bark grubs. One small and skinny and the other big and fat. Don't know if they are different varieties or whether the big ones are just better fed. Make different size holes in the log too. Aquarium fish like them.

Ain't that worm wood expensive and desireable for (fake) antiques? Seems to me I've seen furniture purposely "knocked up" to resemble worm damage.

Am I nuts or do people really do that?

Speaking of nuts, how about screaming beetles?

if you can find the adult (powderpost?) beetle on the log check it out. They are maybe an inch or bit longer, dark black, sort of narrow and with long antenna.

If you hold them by the antenna and put them close to your ear you can hear them screaming. I'm not joking. They really do scream.

I imagine they are demanding to be put back down...

 

[Blowdown1]

max, I think you are correct in that they are different bugs. I have these huge ones in my old pines that are still laying around from Isabel 1.5 years ago. I think they are pine sawyer grubs. #@Q$% huge and pretty gross. Big ol nasty pincers that they will grab hold of you with. The oaks that have been down from the storm have similar looking grubs but they are much smaller and less "vicious" looking. Haven't bothered trying to ID them.

 

[scottr]

Bug ID

Maybe this will help . http://www.bugwood.org Scott