What do I have going on here?

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NickDL

Burning Hunk
Aug 27, 2012
181
Souderton, Pa
I was out looking at my rounds this morning, I know that I need to split them. Well I found two things, the first thing is possible termite damage?? The second, I'm not sure what it is. I thought a fungus or egg sacks of some sort. When I tried breaking one open, it was hard & had a black inside. Any opinions & recommendations on what I need to do, besides split them. Here are a couple of pictures:

u4atu9e6.jpg


uzajuqaj.jpg


Thanks for the help!
 
Some sort of fungus, if it's still attached when it's time to burn then you have a few extra BTUs. As far as the pests I'm not sure, although I do see a cicada shell.

fv
 
I noticed some wood dust like that in my stack and found the split that was infected - pulled it out and tossed it in the fire pit with a bit of cardboard, bark and junk wood. Haven't seen any since. Seems whatever it is(termites, wood ants, wasps???) they don't do well in a fire.

As mentioned above, the other is some sort of fungus and will dry up as the wood dries and be no problem.
 
Nothing much more that you can do with that lot now except to split and stack in a windy place. Unsplit rounds hold their moisture way longer than splits, making 'em susceptible to what you got there. Another reason to split and stack the rounds ASAP.
 
I never worry about any foreign substance growing on my splits.....

Now, if it's explosive.....we've got a problem :eek:

But mold, green, white, brown, puffy, leafy, curly, slimy, I don't care a bit.....burn it all!

And so far I've never seen any bug, termite, wasp, borer, ant, bee, snake, aardvark, or any other living thing do enough damage to my wood stack to amount to a hill a beans!
 
Nothing much more that you can do with that lot now except to split and stack in a windy place. Unsplit rounds hold their moisture way longer than splits, making 'em susceptible to what you got there. Another reason to split and stack the rounds ASAP.

Off topic-- that's a nice looking cat, Gark. Had one just like it from the time I way a sophomore in high school until this last winter when we had him put to sleep at the age of 16.
 
I noticed some wood dust like that in my stack.
I think that dust is from powderpost beetles. They should become less active at this time of year. I even saw some powder on one of the bottom rounds in a stack of Hedge-apple I haven't got to yet. That is some hard wood!
 
I was out looking at my rounds this morning, I know that I need to split them. Well I found two things, the first thing is possible termite damage?? The second, I'm not sure what it is. I thought a fungus or egg sacks of some sort. When I tried breaking one open, it was hard & had a black inside. Any opinions & recommendations on what I need to do, besides split them. Here are a couple of pictures:

u4atu9e6.jpg


uzajuqaj.jpg


Thanks for the help!
Just get it split and stacked ASAP. Don't worry about the fungus. You can lop it off. But the bark is separating from your wood so it's been out uncovered for a while. Bugs shouldn't be a problem once stacked and split but don't put it in or very near your house till ready to burn. I had cut up a bunch of oak and maple loaded with carpenter ants and some termites. The egregiously damaged and insect laden I tossed in the woods or cut off pieces till I get to sound wood. Otherwise have not seen any of the ants. I did spray the pile with some ant spray here and there. Good luck.
 
Nick, your first mistake was to not split the wood first. The second mistake was not top covering it because you live in an area that has been getting lots and lots of rain. However, all is not lost.

Not sure about the termites but it does look like some powder post beetles in there and that is nothing to be concerned about. I'd highly advise to get tht wood split, stack it off the ground and stack it where it will be in a windy spot. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the help everyone! I know that I need to get it split, that's my plan for this fall. I have plenty of split & seasoned wood for this coming winter.
 
As others said. Split and stack ASAP. Wood is more likely to rot and and more appealing to bugs when still in the round.
 
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