Critters

[katwillny]

Hey All,

So I was piling some wood next to my deck yesterday and my wife asked me if we should be concerned about termites. Is there a general rule that says how far from the house I should pile wood for termite concern?

Thanks All

 

[hockeypuck]

25 feet is what I have heard, but I have mine closer. I nuke the area that I am stacking my wood with a pesticide. At one time I did have them but they have been eradicated from the house. I have a pest control company come to my house 4 times a year to do maintenance. Why are you worried, have you seen signs of them in or around your home? I stack my wood on top of pressure treated 2x4's that are on edge to get the wood off the ground and spray the perimeter twice a year. Sounds drastic, but I hate those ...

 

[cmonSTART]

25 feet is what I have heard, but I have mine closer. I nuke the area that I am stacking my wood with a pesticide. At one time I did have them but they have been eradicated from the house. I have a pest control company come to my house 4 times a year to do maintenance. Why are you worried, have you seen signs of them in or around your home? I stack my wood on top of pressure treated 2x4's that are on edge to get the wood off the ground and spray the perimeter twice a year. Sounds drastic, but I hate those ...

Not a bad idea. I should really do something like that at our place.

 

[katwillny]

Thanks Guys great ideas. Know I am armed with that much knowledge on the situation.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We've never worried much about insects or critters in the wood. However, we like to stack it a ways from the house. Then in late fall I move some to the end of the porch inside the carport. It makes it handy for getting wood when needed plus, being on the north side it also makes a nice wind block.

I agree that carpenter ants are the worst thing. I hate those things. We never had them here until one year we camped in Shenandoah Nat. Park and they got in the camper. Now they are all over. Many have probably read a post of mine where I used the wild turkeys to clean up the ants! It worked like a charm but then I had to start chasing turkeys to keep them out after the ants were gone.

Another thing we've noticed is that if we bring in too much wood, after it warms up we sometimes get moths suddenly flying around. Not a big problem but not necessarily something you want flying around inside the house either.

 

[Ratherbfishin]

I am keeping my piles well away from the house and will stack some underneath the porch once it gets colder. I have been splitting my own wood and sometimes you pop a round open to find a billion ants evacuating from it. In that case I keep a can of ant spray next to me and sock it to 'em. My biggest fear as far as critters in my wood is snakes! I am praying I don't have that problem as I have seen on this site. most people that have posted snake pics have been down south. At any rate I am going to carpet bomb my stacks with moth balls I hear snakes don't like them.

 

[katwillny]

Thanks guys. All very good suggestions.

 

[Tony H]

A buddy of mine was told by the termite guy that 30' is the minimum distance.
How about bees my neighbor has a bunch of nests in his pile and mine is only 100' away and I have none. He can't even stack wood without being stung.

 

[allhandsworking]

Is there an off the shelf pesticde that you can treat the underside of the wood pile. (termites,carpenter ants)

 

[OpenWater]

Be careful what you use on carpenter ants. Typical insecticides, like Spectracide, in my opinion, are worthless. Just cost you $$. If applied directly to ants, yes, it kills the ants. More than likely, the ants killed are foragers from a nest. The nest compensates by cranking out, you guessed it, more ants. Spectracide directions suggest laying down a barirer around whatever you want to protect. Research I've done indicates said barriers are ineffective; they find a way to get around. Just my $.02 there. Termidor is also a termiticide.

If you suspect you have a carpenter ant problem, consider exploring a different route, with the goal of destroying the nests. Baits (Advance) are worth looking into, as is Termidor (www.termidor.com) which is a non-repellent product that ants walk across and carry back to the nest, over time, eradicating the nest. A couple of folks on this forum suggest using, of all things, ashes from their wood stoves (!) or diatomaceous earth. Reason being, carpenter ants are VERY clean and will avoid areas with this material.

I've got a new log home, and the ants do come around. I can only imagine what they might have been thinking when a log home shows up in a place where they had been happily foraging for years. When I first noticed the ants, I tried the spray insecticides and now wish I never had. I use Advance ant baits, and with good results. I'll give the ash approach soon enough, but need some ashes first!

CB

 

[hockeypuck]

Too bad the greenies took Diazinon away from us a few years back. I stock piled and had enough to last into last year. Its gone now....

 

[nocdpc]

If you stack some inside the house use doublesided sticky tape... It works like a champ! If outside stacking. Move the pile in the fall and as others have said nuke the pile with a coating of the needful.