Termites in my wood pile!

[max384]

I just got inside from spending all morning splitting wood. I probably split about a cord today (by hand). On my last split, termites flew out everywhere. They were inside one of my rounds. I keep my main wood stack about 50-60 feet from my house.

I will be calling an exterminator to treat the ground. But what should I do about the wood? Should I discard (burn outside) the entire cord? My chopping area is right next to my main woodpile. Should I also discard this?

 

[HisTreeNut]

If it was just one log that was infested, I would not worry too much about it. Get rid of the bad log and the rest of the wood should be fine. Termites like dampness so as the wood gets "seasoned" ( undet 20% moisture content), they should leave the rest of your wood alone. Make sure your wood isn't stacked directly on the ground either.
If it is just a log that is infested, calling an exterminator may be extreme. You could probably self treat it for less going to Lowe's or your local farm store.


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[GadDummit]

I just got inside from spending all morning splitting wood. I probably split about a cord today (by hand). On my last split, termites flew out everywhere. They were inside one of my rounds. I keep my main wood stack about 50-60 feet from my house.

I will be calling an exterminator to treat the ground. But what should I do about the wood? Should I discard (burn outside) the entire cord? My chopping area is right next to my main woodpile. Should I also discard this?

Time to pull out the Termador. Mix up a little, squirt it on the woodpile, enjoy an iced tea and tell the wife you halted an invasion today. Reap rewards.

 

[sportbikerider78]

I would dust the pile and call it a day.

 

[mountain man 2]

I just got inside from spending all morning splitting wood. I probably split about a cord today (by hand). On my last split, termites flew out everywhere. They were inside one of my rounds. I keep my main wood stack about 50-60 feet from my house.

I will be calling an exterminator to treat the ground. But what should I do about the wood? Should I discard (burn outside) the entire cord? My chopping area is right next to my main woodpile. Should I also discard this?

There are a lot of worse things.....like havin a crab on your organ..

 

[weatherguy]

I bought a tub of demon-xp, any bug problems that crop up get taken care of instantly.

 

[Simonkenton]

Termites can only live in a moist environment. Is your woodpile out in the rain, or what? If it is under shelter and the wood is dry don't worry the bugs that were in that log will go bye bye. You don't need to treat the ground, termites will go anywhere they want to in order to get moist, not pressure treated wood to eat.

 

[max384]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It appears I got more worried than I need to be... But given that I live in a stick built house, I don't want to take chances. I'm going to buy some Termidor and run a treated trench around my house.

As far as the wood, I'll toss the affected pieces, and save the rest. I'm hesitant to treat the actual wood itself, as I don't want the fumes in the house come burning time.

I stack wood outside, uncovered. I stack it on gravel. So it comes in contact with the ground, but on well drained gravel. So far, this has worked well to keep the moisture content low after a year of seasoning, as checked by a moisture meter.

The wood that I found the termites in was on the ground. I had bucked the logs and left them sitting on the ground for about a month. Usually I buck and split within a day or two of each other, but I had to leave for a month with the military, hence them sitting so long.

 

[Highbeam]

Termidor, or the cheaper generic equivalent, is awesome for lots of bugs including termites. Wipes out ants too.

Do not worry about fumes from burning wood that has been sprayed with bug killer in a vented stove. That’s silly, the concentration of the pesticide residue is ultra low and rapidly degrades. I’ll spray an entire stack if I think it might need it.

 

[Simonkenton]

You are going to put a trench of poison around your house, because some termites fell out of a log in your yard?
You are getting carried away.

Termites are all around and can attack your house at any time if it is not properly built. The termites that fell out of this log are no threat to you.

 

[max384]

It treats for ten years. It'll be an afternoon's worth of work. I may be getting carried away, but I'll sleep better this way.

 

[kennyp2339]

It treats for ten years. It'll be an afternoon's worth of work. I may be getting carried away, but I'll sleep better this way.

I'm the same way, seeing the termites in the wood was the catalyst or reminder that an area around the house should be treated for peace mind, not because of the wood, but just reminder that these little bugs are around.

 

[max384]

I'm the same way, seeing the termites in the wood was the catalyst or reminder that an area around the house should be treated for peace mind, not because of the wood, but just reminder that these little bugs are around.

After posting here, and doing some more research online, it appears that I got a bit too worried about finding some termites in the wood... But an ounce of protection can go a long way. I now know they're here, so I might as well keep my house protected, especially since I may be bringing these termites into the house. As I understand it, the termites live in the ground, not in the wood (at least in my geographic area), so if I do bring some in, and they get in the house, if I have the outside area treated, I won't have to worry about the colony traveling into my home to feed.

I also think I may get some bricks to stack my wood on instead of just gravel. Although the gravel has been working well to keep the wood dry, I'll feel better about having the wood completely off the ground.

 

[Highbeam]

After posting here, and doing some more research online, it appears that I got a bit too worried about finding some termites in the wood... But an ounce of protection can go a long way. I now know they're here, so I might as well keep my house protected, especially since I may be bringing these termites into the house. As I understand it, the termites live in the ground, not in the wood (at least in my geographic area), so if I do bring some in, and they get in the house, if I have the outside area treated, I won't have to worry about the colony traveling into my home to feed.

I also think I may get some bricks to stack my wood on instead of just gravel. Although the gravel has been working well to keep the wood dry, I'll feel better about having the wood completely off the ground.

I hear you. The one log just reminded you about some other job that you meant to be doing. Applying pesticides is something you do to prevent infestation as much as it is to kill a current infestation. It’s really a maintenance activity not unlike cleaning the gutters.

Every spring and fall my buildings get a perimeter protection layer of termidor in accordance with the directions on the label. Not so much for termites but for ants. For ants you don’t need to dig a trench.