Bugs in Wood, Drawing the line

[Oldtoad of Green Acres]

Was cutting up some downed trees today and found some with evidence of bug damage or infestation.
Cut the logs until the bugs then transported it to the brush/burn pile. Time for a burn.
Any guidance on bugs in wood? Always heard to keep the firewood pile away from the house...

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Depends on what the bugs are. Some, like carpenter ants, are not a worry. I'd keep powder post beetles away from the house.

 

[peakbagger]

Seeing Kennebec country on the signature my guess is someone from Maine?. If its hardwood, it could be carpenter ants, they disappear pretty quickly once the wood is split as they are looking for moist place to hide out of the cold. If its particularly infested I leave it spread out in sun on the driveway and then flip it over and they are gone quickly. It its sofwood particularly pine there is usually distinct boundary between the good inner wood and the outer wood that the borers have gotten at. I leave the outer wood for campfires and would only use the solid inner wood. My wood supply is predominately hardwood with a bit of spruce and usually just leave the spruce where I cut it for wildlife enhancement as I do not like dealing with sap.

 

[Eman85]

Bugs burn just fine. Once split they usually leave the wood or die in the cold.

 

[sneefy]

Depends on what the bugs are.

This is the info needed here.

 

[Oldtoad of Green Acres]

This is the info needed here.

Not an entomologist.
Was looking for guidelines and advice on keeping wood a distance from the house.
The wood processing and pile is now pretty close to the house. Going to shift over to those metal baskets on a pallet and move processing away from the house, into the open and full sun. The wood chips and little wood pieces are a nuisance. Bugs are mostly eaten by chickens, they love bugs.

 

[j7art2]

If I worried about bugs in firewood here, I'd never have any firewood. Unless it's punky or pouring out bugs (which does happen occasionally I guess) it's coming home with me. I don't think there's a single piece of wood I've gathered that doesn't have evidence of bug damage. That's as common as a white pickup in rural Michigan.

 

[DonTee]

I usually keep my firewood away from my house until it’s a time to burn. But my dad has been stacking green firewood against his barn (wood construction/siding) for over 30 years without bug issues. So I don’t know

I think probably as long as your house doesn’t already have bug or rot issues, it doesn’t matter about having the firewood nearby.

 

[zmender]

I think bug proteins come at 15k btus per pound.