Newbie to splitting- what do you guys do if you find a bunch of carpenter ants or termites!

[ruserious2008]

Splitting a bunch of pine that has been down and cut into 16-24" long pieces, about 8-24" dia and sitting on the ground for about a year. Took one piece this weekend that had what looked like a woodpecker hole in it and when I split it I found lots of carpenter ants. The good news was it was very cold out so they were real lethargic and I just mushed them one by one. Kept splitting and found the big fat queen and mushed her miserable little existence also I imagine this must not be all that rare of an occurrence. Carpenter ants are pretty common around here (southern NH) but still I don't want to give them any invites. And then I totally fear doing this and finding termites one day. Do you guys keep a can of ant/termite killer with you when you split? Wondering if I "nuked" a split with such should I then relegate it to the outdoor burn pile (thinking burning those pesticides cannot be a good thing) . Anyway wondering how everyone else deals with this issue.
Thanks

 

[JoeyD]

I break out the mapp tourch and fry the little bastards. With my wood sitting for 3+ years I'm not taking any chances they find a new home in one of my stacks.

 

[Thistle]

Cutting as much deadfall & standing Red/Black Oak snags as I do,am used to seeing them quite often.Rarely more than 3-4 rounds per tree have anything in it,even if they're partly hollow or riddled with holes.I just split all of it as usual,leave any pieces with holes and/or ants on the ground & gather them up in a few weeks or months.Birds do a good job taking care of them,same with any grubs.

 

[tfdchief]

In the winter they die, I hope. In warm weather, I spray them.

 

[RNLA]

I use fire as in a propane torch if I have the chance. I also have used ant killer spray ETC. Kill as many as you can if you're any where near a structure, otherwise in the woods leave them for the critters.

 

[Intheswamp]

As long as there is not a carpenter ant queen or termite queen in the round won't the workers simply die or be eaten by birds or whatever? I mean, without a queen the colony dies...right?...wrong?

Ed

 

[ruserious2008]

Thanks for the comments folks. I like the propane torch idea and will use that- lets me get in those little holes to kill them also.
for some other answers to comments- " they die in the winter"- well I would think so in split wood but I can attest to the fact that they will survive in unsplit logs - I'd say the one I found them in was 18" long and about the same in diameter and that tree was downed and cut up last summer sometime and I just found them now. So splitting in the spring does not afford one the chance to let them freeze to death over the winter.
I throw splits I have that have grubs in them out in the yard for the birds to feast off of also as was mentioned. Just not comfortable doing that with carp ants or termites out of fear a queen could have time to relocate her colony. And yes they need a queen but I'm reaching back into my memory here but I think they can have new queens develop as needed and then they migrate off to form new colonies so my fear just letting the birds have at it is that a queen gets loose and I have it land in my barn or house or even my ornamental trees in my yard. So...I like the propane torch idea- no chems and if I split it enough pretty sure I'll get them all and still can a least have the wood to burn.

 

[woodsmaster]

They like moist wood so once the wood dries they should leave. If I have wood with the tell tale sighns I bring it in as I burn it.

 

[quads]

When I cut a tree, I split the rounds in the woods where the tree lays. Generally all the carpenter ants scatter on the forest floor as I'm splitting. Then I load the splits on the trailer and haul them home to the woodpile. I have never found a carpenter ant living in my stacks at home.

 

[48rob]

When splitting wood that has ants, I shave/split off the good outer wood and toss the inner rotten wood back into the woods.

I may miss a few, but I don't knowingly leave wet rotten infested wood anywhere near the firewood piles.

Rob

 

[Flavo]

I have been wondering about this myself so thanks for posting the question. I have been doing construction on the home lately so I have a 55 gal burn barrel close to my firewood processing spot. It helps to get rid of all the fallen bark and little pieces. If I have a fire going, or that might be the perfect time to start one. I will toss that split right in the barrel. It is very satisfying to me to know that they are all meeting death. I had a small infestation in an old house so I get a lot of satisfaction from it.

 

[joefrompa]

I like em - they burrow deep into my quality wood leaving sizable air passageways to help speed the seasoning process.

 

[Bspring]

They like moist wood so once the wood dries they should leave. If I have wood with the tell tale sighns I bring it in as I burn it.

I also go with the moist wood theory. I think once the wood is split and relocated they will all die. I have never found any in my wood stacks but often find them when splitting. It is not worth my time to kill them when splitting. About the only thing I will go out of my way to kill are Yellowjackets.

 

[jlove1974]

I call my dog over and he eats whatever critter that comes out (except for yellowjackets, and they are usually in rotten wood laying on the ground).
Same thing with the compost pile, he sits and waits for a grub snack

 

[firefighterjake]

I think I've used this analogy before . . . but I'll use it again.

You're home minding your own business. You have a wife and 2.5 thousand kids. You've had a long day at work and are just chilling out, maybe eating dinner when all of a sudden a giant chain of death comes ripping down right into the middle of your home . . . the sound is terrible, the fumes are noxious and there are bodies everywhere.

Your family however rallies together and starts to evacuate the home when all of a sudden the home is turned up on its side (more family members plummet to their death) and then a giant splitting ax starts whacking away at your home . . . more family members die in a mercifully quick death.

You think the worse is over until what's left of your home is tossed to the side and exposed to the elements, offering you no protection from the sun and wind . . . and then . . . when you think it cannot get any worse . . . THEY come . . . by THEY I mean the birds . . . as the rest of your family flees the home for safety the birds come in and start picking them off one by one.

Untold numbers of your family are dead or severely hurt. Your home has been whacked into bits. I know I wouldn't stay in a home like that . . . and apparently the ants think the same way.

------

I just roll the split with the ants to the side . . . away from the rest of the wood. After that I let the birds and the elements do their thing. When I go back a few days later there are no signs of the ants.

 

[ChrisNJ]

I have hardwood rounds delivered and piled in my driveway, been pecking at about a 3 cord pile for a while now and occasionally I will split a piece and find the big carpenter ants and when I do I toss the whole piece out in the middle of the driveway and call the kids and dog over if they are around and we all squish em and bang the wood to get em out and squish em and chase em down as they try to escape. Pieces with termites I put in a plastic bag and into the garbage can.

 

[shawneyboy]

Just this morning I was watching a red headed woodpecker addressing this issue.

Shawn

 

[zzr7ky]

Jake nailed it:Ignore them.

Termites - I haven't seen, but if I did I would see the tubes they make on the outside of the wood and I'd probably pass on that tree/log.

If you are concerned a mild Botax spray makes it impossible for them to digest wood and they'll die.

ATB,
Mike

 

[certified106]

Termites are actually less worrisome then the carpenter ants as termites can only survive for around two hours above ground before the die. So if you cut a round of wood that has termites in it and then throw it on your stacks two hours later they are dead. Carpenter ants on the other hand are pretty hardy little buggers and worry me more than the termites.

 

[gerry100]

Just stack it away form your house, up off the ground where it can dry.

They'll be gone well before you burn it.

 

[Flavo]

yeah, but they have to go somewhere. That somewhere could be my house. I am sure an ant has no problem walking 100-200' to find my house. I'm not saying you folks are wrong. But I hate the thought of these little buggers in my home again.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I once took some birdseed that the wife uses in all her bird feeders and drew a line right to the ants I found while splitting. Turkeys came through and found the seed and it brought them right to the ants I'd found. No more ants. I did have to chase the turkeys away for a few days after that but it got rid of all the ants.

 

[Flavo]

Now that's thinking on your feet.

 

[remkel]

Played a game of "Kill the ants" this past weekend. Found the queen in the log and crushed her. The rest of the colony was so lethargic they just stayed in a pile at the center of my splitting log. Made for a good stress reliever as i continued pounding on the pile until nothing was moving.

 

[firefighterjake]

yeah, but they have to go somewhere. That somewhere could be my house. I am sure an ant has no problem walking 100-200' to find my house. I'm not saying you folks are wrong. But I hate the thought of these little buggers in my home again.

I don't worry about this too much . . . figure there is a lot of other semi-rotting wood in the woods nearby that would make much more tempting treat and home to them than my own home . . . the key is not having wet wood.