I store my wood about 5 foot form my house and I was wondering if I should spray it with termite spray or something to keep the bugs from eating my house and my wood?
Bug Spray
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If the wood is up off the ground (no direct contact with the dirt), and there's not a source of moisture around (puddles, A/C condensate drains, rain spouts, whatever), and the wood has already begun to season nicely (some graying, checking, loose bark), then you shouldn't have a problem with bugs of any scary kind that pose a threat to your house. No need to spray a bunch of toxic chemicals around. 5 feet should be a plenty sufficient demilitarized zone. Keep an eye out in that area for guerilla bug infiltrators. They will often disguise themselves as benign Lady Bugs or friendly little geckos trying to sell you wood insurance. Don't be fooled by them! Stomp upon them immediately with all your might and Kill them! Kill them! Kill them! But, please, no chemical warfare...only conventional weapons. 
hh: Rick
hh: Rick
I have about a cord and the bottom row is on the ground and consits of large piss elm the only moisture is little drip from the condesation drain of my AC but it is about 5 foot from the wood and evaporates about as fast as it hits the ground.
If you care about the bottom row of wood, you should get it up off the ground (pressure treated 2"x4"'s or something like that), unless you've already written off that wood as your buffer, rather than eventual firewood. The A/C condensate may not be evaporating as quickly as you think...it might be finding its way into the ground and providing a source of moisture that bugs of all kinds seek out...you might want to think about adding a little length of some sort of hose to divert that downhill well away from your wood pile, or maybe it's already far enough away. If you don't see lots of bugs crawling around out there routinely, then you probably don't have much of a bug problem, and there's little reason to go spraying poisonous stuff all over the place. But then, I'm not an exterminator, just a rookie woodburner. Rick
Yeah I think I will add a hose to it just to get it away from my foundation. I got that piss elm from a tree that blew down in a storm and it looks better to stack on than pallets and is cheaper than Pressure treated lumber I figure in a couple of years Ill burn it in my fire pit. Thanks for the tips.
Hey Fossil do you have a blower on your Century stove and does it work very good. I just put one on my stove and it doesnt feel like it blows a ton of air.
Hedge, I actually bought a blower for it off eBay, but that was long after I'd already installed the stove, and then I discovered two things...I'd have to move the stove to install the blower, and there wasn't enough room behind my stove for the blower without reconfiguring my stovepipe. I had the blower on my workbench for a while trying to figure out a way to duct it, and I tested it a number of times, and I wasn't impressed with it. So...I gave the blower away. My little workshop's only 325 square feet, with 10 foot ceilings, and I put a small ceiling fan in there. That does the trick for me out there just fine. The factory blower kit on our Lopi stove in the house, on the other hand, puts that Century thing to shame...it works like a dream. Rick
Keep the wood dry and off the ground and you shouldn't have issues. There are enough toxins already seeping into the soil to last generations. Many of these chemicals are very persistent, they don't break down quickly. If you need to use something use common Borax. It's safe and effective.
Good call BG how heavy do you sprinkle the borax- on the wood or around it- or around the perimeter of the house?
Fossil I guess ill use the blower since I have it and use a tower fan for a little more umph!!
Fossil I guess ill use the blower since I have it and use a tower fan for a little more umph!!
what about termites? The wood will be used this winter and wont be restacked in that area again should I be alright?
Off the Ground.. At least 2ft away from the house.--Leaves you lots of room to spray if ya have to...
Although, dustiing with something, like Sevin is better-and has a 30 day residual value, providing you don`t get it wet. %-P
Although, dustiing with something, like Sevin is better-and has a 30 day residual value, providing you don`t get it wet. %-P
Sevin affects everything it touches. Worms, beetles, grubs, etc. If you like birds, then don't use it. They eat these insects. Sonny, if you are creating a miniature Butchart Gardens, then it must be attracting a lot of birds, bees, insects and other fauna. Best not to turn it into a toxic trap. What goes around comes around.
(broken link removed to http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/gen-pubre-sevin.html)
(broken link removed to http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/gen-pubre-sevin.html)
Burning wood that has been treated with insecticide of any kind is just asking for trouble. You'd be running the risk of contaminating your home, as well as the immediate outdoor area with toxic smoke. Don't do it.
Ants/termites can colonize up to 50 feet away, so certainly 5 feet isn't going to stop them. Make the stack inhospitable, i.e. get everything off the ground so there is no moisture, which is what would lead them there in the first place.
As BeGreen said, you can use Borax. Also, you can get Praying Mantis larvae. Praying Mantis are voracious eaters and would eat ANY bug around your stack.
As BeGreen said, you can use Borax. Also, you can get Praying Mantis larvae. Praying Mantis are voracious eaters and would eat ANY bug around your stack.
fossil said:Keep an eye out in that area for guerilla bug infiltrators. They will often disguise themselves as benign Lady Bugs or friendly little geckos trying to sell you wood insurance. Don't be fooled by them! Stomp upon them immediately with all your might and Kill them! Kill them! Kill them! But, please, no chemical warfare...only conventional weapons.
Dude, you're a frickin' riot! :lol:
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