Firewood and tarps and bugs

[oosik]

Hmmm when I burned wood it was stored in a wood shed. The shed was just right for ten full chord. Had wood pallets - just like field pallets - covering the entire floor area - provided great air flow for drying the wood. Burned five chord per year. Wood had always dried two years before use.

NO SNAKES, no spiders, no termites, no powder post beetles. Lots of those wedge shaped stink bugs, bark and dirt. Burned wood for ten years then went to pellets.

 

[Thomas]

I don't pack my wood to tight and leave foot or so between rows,trap just over the edges.

 

[Deere Dude]

I lost a lot of stacked logs due to carpenter ants if stored more than a year or so.

Finally I decided to split everything and store in a dog kennel with a metal roof, in a chicken coupe and in another pole barn type shed. I started to spray the pile down with BIFIN IT with is a termacide at the end of a splitting day. At least once a year after that I spray the same stuff on the whole pile that I can get to. I haven't had any bugs in 5 years since I started using that. No wasps or bees or Carpenter bees and carpenter ants. It is cheap to use as it is a couple ounces per gallon of water.

No bugs in the house from wood. Plus I spray the whole house and barn with the stuff because I had Carpenter bee problems and spiders all over. Now gone.

Now I have about 10+ split cord under roof and on concrete which seems to help. All my logs are on concrete and drying.

 

[Mike68]

I have found it depends where on my property I store the wood. I always stack on pallets. I have a stack on the south side where it does not get
Much sun or wind. (Shaded by trees). This pile did not last long. Less than two years. The other pile in on the North side of the property so it gets full sun and wind. Some of that wood was still good 4 years later.

My lesson learned is get it exposed to as much sun and wind as possible. Keep it off the ground and dry. I add a tarp along the top and 3 inches down the side of each row. I stack on pallets with a gap between rows.

When I burn I bring good wood in the house and stack questionable wood outside the door. That gets brought in and right into the stove.

 

[tcreeley]

This years wood that will sit until next year, uncovered.

Last year's wood that is headed in for the stove. You can see the tarp I put on in September for the weather.

 

[dasranger]

Tarps invite mice and squirrels and they don’t last. Get yourself some treated plywood (if not treated, paint it) and put something heavy on it. Spray the pile lightly once a year with Home Defense. And whenever you’ve got your leaf blower near by, don’t forget to hit it with that as well.

 

[mcfarmall]

I obtained some 8' high pallet rack sections from work. Next I cut about one foot off of one side of the upright ends then built a lightweight wooden frame that fits over the assembled pallet rack to create a sloped roof that will accommodate two ten foot long pieces of pole barn metal. The beams are 8 feet long so I lay 2- 48"x48" pallets down then cover the inside of the uprights with salvaged chain-link fence fabric so the wood doesn't fall out the ends of the stack. Each rack will hold about 1.75 cords of wood up off the ground with good air flow and shelter from the rain.

 

[dodge man]

Thanks for the answers, some good ideas. I’ve thought about building a roof over it. There are some posts still sticking up from when it was a kennel so it might be easy. I will probably start spraying for bugs a couple times a year also.

 

[Deere Dude]

The problem I always had with tarp is when it rains it will get low spots and water accumulation. Then eventually water leaks through and the wood that consistently has water running over it rots quickly. I have never found a way for tarp to work for me. It is easier to put a steel roof on top, even if it means taking a dog kennel and covering it with tin.

 

[chevy791979]

Never Spray Firewood with Pesticide! - Colonial Pest Control

There was a few articles about this and I read somewhere that some have got sick from insecticides