logs on the ground

[Backwood]

About 10 years ago I cut some pine but left the logs on the ground ( was told this is what caused my bug problem ) 4 or 5 months before sawing , a month after sawing it you could hear the bugs from 50' away.:jawdrop: Not sure what they were but I fed them 8000bf
:censored:
Now I would like to store logs short term ( month or two ) on the same land. But this time I want to get them off the ground. What would be a type log to lay on the ground to put the good logs on that wouldnt invite bugs ??
Would skinning the bark off pine work? Sweet gum? cedar? ??????????

 

[Backwood]

How bout sycamore?

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I'm told the bugs won't touch Hemlock.

Ian

 

[PA Plumber]

Eastern Hemlock, if available, is a good choice. Will keep on the landing for up to a year with no ill effect.

For the couple of months you want, I think Ian is right on.

Or, what about old railroad ties if no Hemlock is available? They could be used over a period of years, for different projects, with little decay.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I've got 15 9' sections of telephone pole in the back yard for a project that isn't going to happen. Yours for the taking.

Ian

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

In my experience, skinning pine will help some but it wont keep all of them out. Keeping them off the ground will prevent rot and termite infestation but most wood boring grubs are deposited buy adult flying beetles.

Come to think of it... I have some sweet gum logs that have been stacked for nearly a year. I've noticed a few bugs between the remaining bark and sapwood but I don't remember seeing any evidence of them boring in when milling. I need to mill some more of it soon so I'll pay closer attention to it.

 

[stonykill]

with pine I find it helps a lot to at least mill it into cants. Get all that bark off. Then it seems to have many fewer bugs. They really like the pine bark, and find their way into the logs before too long.

I picked up free pine logs last year that had been on the ground for 2 years. 26 to 28 inch in diameter. The 1st 4 inches were bored, but the rest of the cant was good. Once I made a cant, I had good lumber.

I find the same thing with cherry. If I let the logs sit, carpenter ants galore. So now I at least reduce them into cants asap.

Seems to be a good rule.And making cants is quick work.

 

[woodshop]

... What would be a type log to lay on the ground to put the good logs on that wouldnt invite bugs?...

In order, starting with the most rot resistant first... Osage orange, black locust, chromated copper arsenate (known as CCA) treated SYP lumber, catalpa, eastern redcedar. That is not a complete list by any means, but here on the east coast those are the major rot resistant species that you could use under your logs. (yes yes yes I know, CCA treated lumber is not a species...)

 

[Mike Van]

A few things I've learned about white pine logs over the years - In May [here anyway] a Sawyer Beetle lays eggs in the bark on cut pine logs, you can see the little pin holes. Just under the bark, these hatch out into tiny grubs, that just grow bigger all summer. They won't be where the log is right in the hot sun, or under it where it's completley shade, they seem to like the temp. somewhere in the middle - I've had them in spruce & hemlock too, only not as bad. By late summer of early fall, they chew down into the sapwood, you can hear them if it's quiet. Some get as big around as your finger. The following year, they hatch out as new Sawyer Beetles, lay more eggs. You need to get the bark off, keep the logs soaking wet [pond, sprinkler], or saw them up. If the logs are left for a few years, the lumber will look like pegboard.

 

[big daddio]

i've left white pine logs on the ground for just a month or so and had grubs in the first 2 to 3 inches every time. even the ones on top of the pile were full of grub holes. any solutions [easy] other than immediate milling.

 

[Mike Van]

If you get grubs that fast, you almost have to mill them right away - I've never tried spraying them with an insecticide, like Sevin or Malithion, because then you have to deal with it in the sawdust, breathing it, etc.

 

[big daddio]

i agree on the insecticides. sometimes i have to spray for carpenter ants on stacked lumber but try to remember when using or selling. best i've found for the grubholed lumber is siding for well ventilated outbuildings...........