I have just started to burn wood and have a large amount stored in the back yard. I have noticed that some logs brought in have carpenter ants in it. The question is . How do I get rid of them and keep mice, ants or termites from taking up residence? I was thinking of spraying kerosene on the wood pile in hopes of protecting it and keeping them out of the hse,barn and woodpile. I thought of insecticide but I'm not sure about handling or burning insecticide laced wood. What do you all think or use??
how to get rid if mice.carpenter ants& termites????
- Thread starter kallaste
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Mice, bugs, etc are part of burning wood. They are nothing to worry about (except for termites of course).
Mice. They don't come into the house on the wood unless you are very careless picking up the wood from the wood pile.
Bugs on wood will come in with you and short of spraying your pile with a killing saturation of chemical you live with it. It really isn't much of a concern. Have to squash an occasional spider or the like but...
Carpenter ants: Just shake off the ones on the billet and staight into the stove with it.
Termites: Same.
Both Carpenter ants and termites on firewood are not a danger to set up housekeeping in your house. The ones you see are the workers and can't breed, The nest is not in the wood but in the ground somewhere near. Just the same, any infested piece of wood goes straight from the pile into the stove at my place.
Harry K
Mice. They don't come into the house on the wood unless you are very careless picking up the wood from the wood pile.
Bugs on wood will come in with you and short of spraying your pile with a killing saturation of chemical you live with it. It really isn't much of a concern. Have to squash an occasional spider or the like but...
Carpenter ants: Just shake off the ones on the billet and staight into the stove with it.
Termites: Same.
Both Carpenter ants and termites on firewood are not a danger to set up housekeeping in your house. The ones you see are the workers and can't breed, The nest is not in the wood but in the ground somewhere near. Just the same, any infested piece of wood goes straight from the pile into the stove at my place.
Harry K
thanks for the help!!
I wasn't worried about the ones being carried into the hse with a load of wood. I was worried about the carpenter ants and termites moving on their own from the wood pile 40yds away and taking up residence in the hse instead. I didn't realize that the ant nest was in the ground at the site of the cutting and not in the logs i brought home.
I wasn't worried about the ones being carried into the hse with a load of wood. I was worried about the carpenter ants and termites moving on their own from the wood pile 40yds away and taking up residence in the hse instead. I didn't realize that the ant nest was in the ground at the site of the cutting and not in the logs i brought home.
kallaste said:
Fortunately I live in a termite free zone so I don't have to worry about that. Carpenter ants - yeah, I have brought a lot of them home on a load. One batch was so bad that I brought it in one stick at a time after knocking off as many as I could.
I have always wondered about wood piles in termite areas. Seems to me they would be a magnet for them.
Harry K
Carpenter ants only like wet wood on the ground. Split it and stack on pallets, season it and dry it and put a top on the stacks and they'll soon move out.
Their nest IS in the wet wood, unlike termites.
Don't kill spiders, let them loose outside, they eat 10 times their body mass of insects each day and are a part of a healthy ecosystem.
Remember, dry wood keeps most bugs away.
I tend to treat the ground around and under the wood piles with termiticide/insecticide to reduce borer beetles, termites and carpenter ants. Putting black plastic over the wood in the sun will kill termites and carpenter ants by raising the temperature. So I tend to tarp new wood then after a cou[le months switch it to cheap visqueen. I use bait blocks and rat shot, the mice will suddenly be gone and you will have rats.
dude this is a 16 year old post .... It so old that Dino here remembers it.
Hey Ken,
Just wanted to see if you're still around...LOL.
How are you doing?
We're good here in Ontario and getting ready for another Winter.
What are you burning this year?
I've got a good mix of Sugars Maple, Red Oak, Hickory, Ash and some Birch and Elm. Same for next year along with Ironwood(Hop Hornbeam).
Just wanted to see if you're still around...LOL.
How are you doing?
We're good here in Ontario and getting ready for another Winter.
What are you burning this year?
I've got a good mix of Sugars Maple, Red Oak, Hickory, Ash and some Birch and Elm. Same for next year along with Ironwood(Hop Hornbeam).
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