Storing some wood in the garage

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stanleyjohn

Minister of Fire
Mar 29, 2008
506
southcentral Ct
This weekend I'm planning on clearing an area in my garage which is attached to the house.I have done this in past years but with a much smaller amount of wood.Since i plan on using the wood stove often!it will be much easier to just walk into the garage and carry a load to the stove.Since this woods seasoned well I'm hoping that i wont be carrying into the garage bad insects like termites or carpenter ants.Who else does it this way!and any precautions i should take?
 
I do the same thing. Have a 2x4 rack against the wall and stack the splits pretty high. Never had a problem with bugs but I wait until Oct figuring that the cold will drive them away from the wood that I am bringing in.
 
If the garage is 40For lower, any bugs should be dormant. I'm going to do this in an unheated wing of my baement this year.
 
I pack about 3 cords in. Its non-heated, cool, but not freezing out there most of the time. I don't think I've had any infestations. 'Sure is handy.
 
I may change from a box that I have now to a built 2x4 frame to see what I can store in there. However, I've found that I can have two days of wood in the stove room and be able to rotate every day and it is pretty good in terms of being "off chill". Might want to try that. Thanks for a reminder. I'm going to get that in place this weekend.
Chad
 
I pack the garage! I can store up to 4 cords in there! I try to use as much outside as possible, then when it is cold, and the snow is deep then I use the garage stock!
 
I store about a face cord in the attached garage, as you are planning to do, and have done this for the past 6-7 years. I do not have any bug problems. I find it is very convenient because it is on the same level, and adjoins the walkout basement, where the stove is located. It also takes out any surface dampness the wood may have from being stacked outdoors in sometimes damp weather. Did I mention I load up a two wheel hand cart with wood and just roll it in? My wife is great, she has seen me do this and didn't say a word. Of course, I do run the vacuum and try to keep the stove area tidied up. Count yourself lucky, to have such a setup, I do! Some members really have to work hard to get their wood into the stove area.
 
I keep a pallet in my garage. It usually is around 40 in there all winter. Never had any trouble. I also keep a small pallet in my boiler room which stays quite warm (although no where as warm as it used to be :) ). No issues with that wood either. I think the key is to wait on bringing wood inside in any quantity until we've had some good cold weather to kill off the bugs.
 
I'm no insect expert, but some bugs (carpenter ants, for example) hibernate in cold weather. If they are in your firewood, and you move the wood to a warmer location, the bugs can 'wake up'.
 
Rain and colder weather starting tomorrow and I also plan to move a cord into an unattached garage right next to the house. Had a cord in the attached garage last year but guess we have to park a car in there this year. :)
 
When I stored wood in the garage I kept the wood a few inches away from the wall. My thought was that any bugs wouldn't jump the air space. I have no idea if that helped but I never had a problem.
 
The ants I've found this year are in the center of the big rounds. So I've got a "good" face cord ready to move to the basement for when I'm not home, or otherwise don't keep a supply for my wife to keep the fire going while I'm away.
 
I store a rack of wood in the garage and refill as needed during the winter months. I usually wait until the first or second frost before I start moving the wood inside. If I want to start a fire before then, I place some wood in a plasic bin...
 
for the past 10 years I have stored aboutt 5 cords of wood in the garage with no problems. I just bring it in around November after it gets cold enough out there and have it all out or burned before the spring. I have never seen a live ant or bug between those two times. You should be fine as long as its cold enough.
 
Moved some wood into the garage today!Here is a pic
 

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Stanleyjohn, that's about what I try to keep in the house. What I have found is that most of the bugs I find are just under the bark. So I split the bark off the stuff staying in the house for more the just a few days. That way I have what I can tell my wife is clean wood.
Don
 
I have stored about 3/4 of a cord in some homemade racks on my attached screen porch in the past and have had no problems. This year I built a header beam under the screenporch and supported the ledger beam and have stacked 2.5 cord and hope for another .5 cord to fit. So far i havent heard any creaks or cracking and the deck is still level. Sure is handy to just wheel the wood wagon onto the screen porch and fill up versus trudging through the weather.
 
I store a face cord in the garage. I load up the rack in september just in case,which is before the critters are hibernating. I came across a bug company guy working one day and he told the product they use is called "termidor". I found it on ebay and use it around the perimeter of the house and have even sprayed it directly on ant hills in the yard. The stuff is amazing! So I treat the wall and floor around my rack just for peace of mind.
 
the only thing i can see from the pic is to keep the wood off the wall a little bit. unless you r doing that and the pic is deceiving
 
Store about a week;s supply on a rack that's a few inches off the ground/from the wall for easy cleanup of debris. No problems with insects as I sweep it up frequently. I will probably throw a small insect trap under there this year just for good measure as my garage is well insulated and my masonry chimney runs up the garage wall, so it averages 55-60 degrees as long as I'm not pulling the truck out often.
 
rich81 said:
the only thing i can see from the pic is to keep the wood off the wall a little bit. unless you r doing that and the pic is deceiving

Not alot of clearance between sheetrock wall and wood!Maybe 2 to 4 inches.I can look behind well enough to see if any bug action is happening.
 
i think that should be good. its not like you have cord upon cord in there, where a bug problem could get outta control.
 
I've known plenty of people who store lots of wood in the basement and have never heard of any problems with any kind of bugs. My experience has been that when the wood is cut and split, the bugs also cut and split.
 
Any problems with mice, or maybe it's because we live in the middle of nut orchards.
 
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