infested firewood

[farfromiowa]

Why can't you burn it if an exterminator does the tent and gas trick? Why wouldn't it be safe to burn? Maybe a dumb question, but I think gas would evaporate or whatever.

 

[vtfireman85]

Why can't you burn it if an exterminator does the tent and gas trick? Why wouldn't it be safe to burn? Maybe a dumb question, but I think gas would evaporate or whatever.

No say, just what she told me.

 

[farfromiowa]

pour Clorox on it & tent tightly with a tarp a few days …. Chlorine will kill anything … it was called mustered gas in ww2 … leave it on there a week or so .. then air it out & smell will be gone shortly

Fun fact, bleach is used as a cleaning solution for mustard gases. Chloramine gas and mustard gas are not the same thing.
Bleach and ammonia produce chloramine gas, Cl-NH2, which is arguably nastier than chlorine itself.
Mustard gas is an entirely different and horribly diabolical invention which you fortunately cannot make at home.
Something I learned in chemical warfare class in the Navy.....

 

[Syflan]

pour Clorox on it & tent tightly with a tarp a few days …. Chlorine will kill anything … it was called mustered gas in ww2 … leave it on there a week or so .. then air it out & smell will be gone shortly

mmm... no. While Cl₂ was used in WWI, Mustard gas is a mixture of several compounds all of which contain SCH₂CH₂Cl.

 

[slabMan]

Old Fred Sanford [and son] is correct...Borax works well, especially in humid areas where it can disolve and penetrate the wood...TimBor is expensive [with a boric acid], 20 mule team Boraxo is cheap...Mix with propylene glycol [aka pink, RV antifreeze] as PG works as an antifungal for wood. I use that mix on all of my [hundreds] of cut slabs as they are drying [1" per yr] and I live in wood boring insect heaven [Western Wa]. I didnt read every post, so perhaps this is redundant info. If not, there you go!

 

[psc1947]

For when they find the house: I've lived in two dirffent log homes, one was painted one wasn't but both had them in the outside, never on the inside. The painted one I painted over the holes regurlarly. The unpainted I sprayed regularly with insecticide. Both seemed to keep the reappearances to a minimum.

 

[vtfireman85]

Old Fred Sanford [and son] is correct...Borax works well, especially in humid areas where it can disolve and penetrate the wood...TimBor is expensive [with a boric acid], 20 mule team Boraxo is cheap...Mix with propylene glycol [aka pink, RV antifreeze] as PG works as an antifungal for wood. I use that mix on all of my [hundreds] of cut slabs as they are drying [1" per yr] and I live in wood boring insect heaven [Western Wa]. I didnt read every post, so perhaps this is redundant info. If not, there you go!

What mixture rate?

 

[Lightning Performance]

Fun fact, bleach is used as a cleaning solution for mustard gases. Chloramine gas and mustard gas are not the same thing.
Bleach and ammonia produce chloramine gas, Cl-NH2, which is arguably nastier than chlorine itself.
Mustard gas is an entirely different and horribly diabolical invention which you fortunately cannot make at home.
Something I learned in chemical warfare class in the Navy.....

Is clorimine heavier then air?

 

[farfromiowa]

Is clorimine heavier then air?

From what I remember, yes over twice as heavy

 

[slabMan]

What mixture rate?

I disolve the borax first in a pot with warm water/PG, but as far as a detailed mixture, there iss not one with me...I go with whatever I have available and make sure the powdered Borax is disolved completely so it will not clog any sprayer I may use. Since it is very humid where I live [The Rain Forest] I simply put my borax in a old Parmesan shaker jar and shake away on my green [wet] slabs and let gravity do its thing. The Borax does not stain or harm the wood, but the PG my tint Maple, Poplar, and other light woods due to the pink coloring. Hope that helps.

 

[Lightning Performance]

From what I remember, yes over twice as heavy

Seal it to the ground then before you fumigate them.

 

[esean]

I think the beetle larvae only eat a bit the sapwood, not heartwood. My hickory always gets powder post beetles. Makes it a little messier to bring in the house but only a very tiny amount of wood is actually lost. Not a concern at all, it still burns great.

 

[Operator]

Spray it with Gasoline?

I'm voting the gasoline.

 

[Mike Van]

This is all just too much work - How about a dedicated wood box, as tight as you can get one, bring the wood in as you use it, store it in that box. Once in awhile a shot of Raid in the box for any beetles that may have fell out. Even a big Tupperware bin would work. Not classy, but would get the job done.

 

[Marine5068]

I have several, perhaps 5 cord of split, stacked, drying hardwood that has become infested with powder post beetles, as I was rather counting on it to stay warm, I really hate to just give up. on the flip side of that coin, I live in a log cabin, so I don't dare bring in more than an armload at a time, pretty much what I intend to burn. its becoming a real problem. called an exterminator to ask advice and potentially hire them, was told what I had suspected, that to tent and gas them would be the only solution and they couldn't do that because I intend to burn it.... but it got me thinking, tenting the pile is no problem, it is already covered, so sealing that up wouldn't be a big deal...
how would carbon monoxide effect them? I have several old tractors to choose from that would sit and run for days if need be pumping exhaust into the tented piles, once it airs out I doubt it would be an issue in the house... any insight or suggestions here would be welcomed.
there are spray on products like BORA CARE that are more intended for treating sills and rafters, building walls etc, and by all accounts they work, but spraying every surface of stacked firewood would be a monumental chore. alternatively I could possibly start over but that would mean I was burning green wood, which is a bad ideal all the way around.

They are a pain. I've had some in Pine and such. Never in my hardwoods (so far).
They were probably in the wood before you cut and split it too. You just transported them back home. I would take that stuff and separate it from the other wood that doesn't have them first of all. Then just bring in the affected wood and right into the stove.