What would you guys do?

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infinitymike

infinitymike

Minister of Fire
Aug 23, 2011
1,835
Long Island, NY
I was splitting oak yesterday.
Split one round open and it was full of carpenter ants.
And lots of winged bugs I guess they were ants also.
For the most part the wood looked pretty good.
It was a 24"x24" round and got about 10 splits out of it.
I sprayed the buggers with the only thing I had a purple cleaning solution I use on my camper.
It actually killed them in a few seconds or so.

When I put the stuff off to the side it seemed like there were still some inside the holes.

Would you guys put that in a rack with perfectly good oak or just throw it out.



1007991.jpg

1007992.jpg
 
I'd get as many good sp;its out of it as I could like you did, then I'd put it aside for outdoor fires in the firepit. I wouldn't stack it with my indoor wood source.
 
I have the luxury of setting that kind of oak aside to rot in the woods. If you do season it, why not a mini stack located remotely from the house and other wood stacks. My experience is the insects depart the splits. The stump will still harbor the survivors.
 
I would toss the splits with ants out on an open lawn or some place similar and not too near the wood stacks, leave them a few days, and every day or two kick them around to turn them over. The ants will leave the wood as it dries out a little. You may find them hiding under the wood, which is why you want to move it. When the ants, or at least most of the ants, disperse, stack the wood. I have done this many times and have never found Carpenter Ants in my stacks, Maybe I could simply split the wood and stack it, but I have available space and nobody complains about the wood all over the place, so I what I describe above.
 
I personally try to leave the "really bad" pieces lay on the ground for a few days before throwing them on my piles. This is not to say that my piles are bug-free to begin with.

Leaving nasty splits open will get rid of a lot of the bugs, however.
 
Perfect timing with the pictures with the discussion about bringing wood into house, for me I like to keep that stuff in a group all its own and before I ever bring it into the house I would resplit some piecies to see if the bugs have moved on. This is the only type of wood I have seen bugs in when I split. I should add the really bad stuff can stay in the woods.
 
I do what everyone else does, toss the split somewhere away from the piles, eventually they leave, then I throw it onto the wood pile. In this case since you sprayed it I wouldn t burn it indoors, Id either burn it outside or toss the pieces you sprayed into the woods.
 
I'm curious why you wouldn't burn sprayed wood in an EPA certified stove. Zero emissions come into the house?
 
Constrictor said:
I'm curious why you wouldn't burn sprayed wood in an EPA certified stove. Zero emissions come into the house?
Click to expand...

It might be ok but Im not sure, with all the wood I have tossing a couple pieces isnt going to leave me short on wood.
 
When I run across that sort of stuff, I'll throw it into a pile all by itself. A couple days later you can stack it with the regular wood and the ants will be gone.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
When I run across that sort of stuff, I'll throw it into a pile all by itself. A couple days later you can stack it with the regular wood and the ants will be gone.
Click to expand...

+1 !! And it makes for very interesting secondaries !!
 
Ken S said:
I put it aside in its own pile then when I bring it in it goes directly in the fire.
Click to expand...

+1 - I don't understand any concern with bugs if it goes directly into the fire. And this is just my opinion but I can't stand throwing wood aside. If I worked to cut it then I am burning it.
 
Shoot, I throw wood all over the woods and pick it up sometimes too.
 
It depends on the wood. If it's in really bad shape, I throw it in the pile for the firepit. Otherwise,
I toss it in the pile to be stacked later. The wood in your pic doesn't look too bad. Just a little
character.
 
They won't stay in the wood once it's been split and starts drying. I find splits like that all the time, even when working it in the winter. They're VERY sluggish then, but are gone by spring.
I don't keep more than a few splits in the house anymore, but have not seen any ants in or on the wood that does come in the house early.
Don't bother with the spray, you will NEVER get them all. Waste of time and polluting the air and ground.
 
PapaDave said:
They won't stay in the wood once it's been split and starts drying. I find splits like that all the time, even when working it in the winter. They're VERY sluggish then, but are gone by spring.
I don't keep more than a few splits in the house anymore, but have not seen any ants in or on the wood that does come in the house early.
Don't bother with the spray, you will NEVER get them all. Waste of time and polluting the air and ground.
Click to expand...
+1, They will leave. Cut 2 red oaks last winter that had some of the same thing. Split and stacked it. The ants were gone or dead in a day or so. Most of them die in the winter when you split the wood.
 
Cutting all the dead Red/Black Oak that I do,I'm used to seeing those in probably at least 10% of the total.Like others here I split them,leave them scattered on the ground for a few days/weeks then stack them with everything else.Once in a great while I'll see an ant or two move once brought in the garage,they dont survive once they hit the fire.
 
Nothing much to add . . . I pretty much do like everyone else . . . toss the affected splits to the side and let the birds feast on the ants as they scurry for cover. In a few days I go back and the ants are nowhere to be seen . . . but oftentimes I'll still keep the affected pieces in a separate pile . . . and usually these are among the first pieces of wood to go into the fire . . . usually straight from the stack and into the firebox with no stops into the woodshed, covered porch or woodbox (I figure why chance things.)
 
Wood Duck said:
I would toss the splits with ants out on an open lawn or some place similar and not too near the wood stacks, leave them a few days, and every day or two kick them around to turn them over. The ants will leave the wood as it dries out a little. You may find them hiding under the wood, which is why you want to move it. When the ants, or at least most of the ants, disperse, stack the wood. I have done this many times and have never found Carpenter Ants in my stacks, Maybe I could simply split the wood and stack it, but I have available space and nobody complains about the wood all over the place, so I what I describe above.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I did last year with some old honey locust I salvaged from the bottom of my neighbors yard.
 
When I've found wood with creepy crawlies inside, I never spray it, I just chuck it into our chicken run and the chooks go mad trying to eat them all.

That's a sight to make me chuckle anyday ;-)
 
I guess I'm in the minority, I stack ant infested pieces like that with the rest of my wood. The birds are usually all over it, and within a day they are all gone.
 
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