Rotten Black Locust

As many others probably will tell you the rot could be from the locust borer. I have cut a lot of locusts in my woods and this is very common. They say in Europe the locust borer does not exist and locust trees can be get big and solid to be able to make boards out of. It is a revered tree over there. Here, at least in my area, there are very few really arge locust without these spots of rot in them. I am not going to complain as I have found it is the best all round wood to burn considering the btu's and the ease of splitting. The thick bark is not a plus though. Others probably have a better insite into the life cycle of the locust borer and how it does its damage etc. Tony

Around here, it isn't uncommon to find the centers of larger Black Locust trees hollow or full of rotten wood. Usually there is a lot of good wood on the outer part of the log. Sometimes there are Carpenter Ants in the centers, but I really don't know if the ants create the problem or move in because something else softened up the wood first. Locust wood lasts a long time, so there are lots of older, still living, partly hollow locusts around old fields, fencerows, etc.

I've cut what I thought were healthy trees over the years and was surprised to see a rotten center...including locust.