Just A Thought

[maual8pounder]

Hey everyone, I was just wondering. Is there something I would be able to pour in the hole of Carpenter ants in my cherry logs to kill them before I split the log for fire wood? And still safe to burn in my wood stove. I split some they went everywhere, thought I had them all out and some where still home.Not Good they got in my house......:angry2: thanks in advance..

 

[Adkpk]

Try soapy water. Dishsoap. A pale of hot water and dishsoap. Ivory, Polmalive. If you have a blower you can blow them out, spliting will get the rest off. If you have a compressor and a blower nozzle that will work.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

There is no need for dangerous chemicals.
Once the wood is cut, split, and dried out enough to safely to burn, the ants will be long gone. The ants need that moisture, if it's dry, they leave for wetter areas.
This is also why you don't have to worry about ants going to your house, unless you have a leaky roof or something that allows wet rotting wood to exist.
If you do have ants in your firewood, it's not properly seasoned.

 

[maual8pounder]

Have to dump it

Hey All. About my thoughts,im just going to load up and dump that cherry.I was able to save a little of it the ones without the holes of course. The wood is really infested real bad:bang: Thanks for the reply I will use it on less populated wood the ants will be happy anyway thanks again.

 

[Mkarlson]

Couple years ago I think I might have had the same kind of infestation your talking about. I was splitting some cherry and was seeing the normal few ants then BAM I split a big round and the piece I was holding on the splitter came alive. With out exaggerating there must have been millions of the darn things. I pick the piece up and throw it down and the ground looked like it was moving around me. I start stomping them and started feeling them crawling all over me. Then I found out, the giant black ants some pushing 1 inch long can BITE! Thank god I dont welt up real bad from bites only had few welts where they got me good. The funniest one was bout an hour after I cleaned up that mess, I was driving home and felt a severe pain on my ear lobe. Looked up in the rearview and the largest ant I've ever seen was hanging on for dear life.

I take the severly infested wood out to a spot I save for camping wood that I burn. I would not take the chance of taking the really bad stuff in or near my house nor do I think a firewood customer would appreciate it much.

 

[gasman]

Couple years ago I think I might have had the same kind of infestation your talking about. I was splitting some cherry and was seeing the normal few ants then BAM I split a big round and the piece I was holding on the splitter came alive. With out exaggerating there must have been millions of the darn things. I pick the piece up and throw it down and the ground looked like it was moving around me. I start stomping them and started feeling them crawling all over me. Then I found out, the giant black ants some pushing 1 inch long can BITE! Thank god I dont welt up real bad from bites only had few welts where they got me good. The funniest one was bout an hour after I cleaned up that mess, I was driving home and felt a severe pain on my ear lobe. Looked up in the rearview and the largest ant I've ever seen was hanging on for dear life.

I take the severly infested wood out to a spot I save for camping wood that I burn. I would not take the chance of taking the really bad stuff in or near my house nor do I think a firewood customer would appreciate it much.

Great story, my wife would practically strangle me if I brought some of those suckers into the house. A few don't bother me, but a massive colony definetely gives me the heebie jeebies.

 

[bigbadbob]

I had those pesky ants in a hollow wall of my cabin, guess they got their needed moisture from the dirt under the cabin. I opened up the wall and got about five gallons of ants and nest from inside the wall.:jawdrop: The opening was about two feet square and four inches deep. You rarely saw them in the daylight. They had eaten the soft portion of 4x4 fir. No structural damage but they didnt want to leave. I used a residual poison, they seem to be gone but its one of those things that sticks in your mind and you keep checking for the telltale signs of fine sawdust. They are intersting to read about.
Bob

 

[ggttp]

Gasoline kills them with in a few seconds and has a low viscosity (low resistance to flow) so a little kills a lot. Be careful though obviously don't do this around a running motor, hot muffler, or while smoking and let the log dry for 20min maybe less it evaporates super fast. :angry2:

 

[maual8pounder]

Cherry not dumped yet

I poured gas on the colony all dead.With a little help from my fiance she brought out the raid can! A little bit ago one got in our house and she put her hand on him.She said it really hurt, stung real bad. Man did I ever hear it. :deadhorse: Glade it wasn't me:hmm3grin2orange: I split my wood by hand not worried about catching a fire worried about the wood stove...Would it cause a problem next year burning or would it evap. out

 

[ehgauss]

Carpenter Ants

I occasionally come across colonies of carpenter ants when I'm splitting my firewood. Mostly it's in red oak, but I have come across them in other woods. I stack the split wood into the woodshed to dry anywhere from six months to two years, and I've never experienced them coming out of the dried wood in the house when I bring it in. I vote with those who said they leave the split wood when it dries. Gene Gauss

 

[ggttp]

gasoline

Once the gas evaporates it burns like normal. We have been doing this for years no problems for us or the people who buy wood from us.

They do leave the fire wood after it dries but that doesn't help when they are gushing out of a split log.

 

[NEK VT]

Just Leave Em

Split the wood and forget them... they will be gone by next year....