HELPPPP ! my woodpile is being invaded

[artmos]

great pile of shagbark hickory is stacked behind my barn. good sun and drying breeze. covered with tarps on the top only. c/s/s about 2 yrs. reading 15-16 on my m.m. kinda forgot about it and this morning with the temp. at 9DEGREES! i decided to bring some in to feed the yukon husky. well i almost fell over when i discovered massive piles of a fine powder covering all the splits. holes in the wood about 1/4 in. long and oblong-not round. cuppla dead beatles were evident-black,about 1/2 in. long.
question is:WTH ARE THESE?? do they pose a larger threat than just chompin my wood? the wood is still very heavy,so they have not destroyed it like a termite would. i beat the powder off the splits,threw them in the wheel barrow and stacked them next to the yukon in the basement of the cabin. will the warmth from the yukon bring them to life and chew down our cabin(white pine logs 30+ yrs. old?} haven't attacked the barn-20 yr. old tulip poplar boards 1 1/2 in thick and 24in.+ wide.stacked up right against it. any ideas what i'm faced with? ky art

 

[artmos]

by the way- these critters have not attacked any of the other wood stacked around the property and in the woodshed-only the hickory.

 

[NH_Wood]

I've had powder post beetles (larvae) do the same to my ash - not sure if they attack hickory. PITA. Cheers!

 

[Thistle]

I've had powder post beetles (larvae) do the same to my ash - not sure if they attack hickory. PITA. Cheers!

Around here powderpost beetles LOVE hickory,especially when cut late winter or early spring.Its like filet mignon to them lol.Also see their work on Red/White Oak,Mulberry,Honey Locust & Eastern Red Cedar/Juniper sapwood quite often & occasionally some Elms.Last May I dropped a partly dead 12" diameter Shagbark w/ one side of tree hollow up the first 8 feet.Even the 3-4" smaller limbs that were totally sound had those pinholes & piles of dust a few days later in the stack.

 

[fishingpol]

I don't think beetles are too selective. I have seen telltale holes in a variety of wood. I have an older house, and a few of the beams and joists have holes. When I was younger, I had some cherry rounds in the basement that was sealed on the ends and put away to dry for carving. A few months later, there is an infestation of small beetles in the basement. It was to the point that they would fly at the lights and land on the workbench. Yes, they were in the cherry and when I finally figured this out, the wood was riddled with holes. I usually seem them within the outer layers, and not into the center. Once the wood dries out, they usually do not stick around. I had some in some apple chunks that I put up last spring, and found the dust and holes in the fall. No big deal overall. I am not sure if they can move to other trees in the area, they probably look for the next host tree.

 

[artmos]

thanks guys! powder post beetles! i will google them and by sundown should be a world authority on the little bas*****!! HAHA art

 

[ScotO]

they are all through my locust too! I cut that stuff down early in the summer, and one evening not long after I stacked the wood, I was out behind my barn and could hear a very faint munching sound. Not very loud, it almost sounded like the stacked wood was 'cracking' from the summer heat drying it. So (call me crazy), I made sure NOONE WAS AROUND AND LOOKING, and I went up to the stack and put my ear against the wood. WOW, you could hear a symphony of those larvae eating at that wood, and within days of stacking it there was piles of sawdust EVERYWHERE. There really isn't anything you can do about it, I guess......just deal with it. But I do not think they are very particular on the wood, just as long as it has some green in it. I noticed their characteristic holes in my ash, locust and oak, mainly.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Yes, we could hear the Ips beetles eating the standing-dead pinon in Colorado, when we lived there. It was amazing, after we realized what it was.

 

[seeyal8r]

I had these this year in my hickory and pecan. They made it look like swiss cheese. They will come out of the wood by the dozens when you bring it in and warm them up. My advice is to take it from outside to fire place.

 

[clemsonfor]

Yes, we could hear the Ips beetles eating the standing-dead pinon in Colorado, when we lived there. It was amazing, after we realized what it was.

Those that you hear are the Sawyer beetles, a secondary infester.

I am a forester but not a forest pathologist so my bug knowlege is not up to snuff on them all but i am pretty sure on what i have said.

As to the OP they sound like powder post bettles, they usually make tiny holes. And yes they will infest your home. I would not keep any of that wood in my house i would keep it outside.

I have them in my old doady oak i cut last year and a bit in some of the green cut oak last year in the pile.

They are more of a nusiance in a home unless you havee a serious infestation they wont pose structural problems. But i would not keep it in the house even if they dont turn out to be powder posts.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

People do complain about ash holes.

If worried about bringing them into the house, then don't store any in the house. Bring it as ya burn it.

 

[wetwood]

People do complain about ash holes.

If worried about bringing them into the house, then don't store any in the house. Bring it as ya burn it.

I complain about as# holes all the time and never let them in my house. :cheese: As for buggy wood I just bring in what will fit in the stove.

 

[ScotO]

Here's a short link about some of the beetles in your wood.....there's lots of information out there. Most of them will not cause a problem, but nonetheless you don't want them flying around your house. http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef626.asp

 

[raybonz]

I'd say powder post beetles too.. I get them in wood too and they pretty much bore anything..

Ray

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I wouldn't bring the wood into the house until you are ready to burn it. I wouldn't want to take the chance that they might find the house attractive.

Matt

 

[ScotO]

Most of those bugs prefer hardwood that is either green or very moist.......you shouldn't have to worry about them ruining your house unless you have a house built out of hardwood and your house is very very humid.....lol.....powder post beetles bore small holes if I am correct......the bigger flathead borers (which I believe is what is what in my locust) vote around a 3/16" oblong hole....

 

[ScotO]

I usually bring a week's worth of firewood into the basement at a time. My basement usually stays around 48 degrees in the winter months. You shouldn't have to worry about them in the winter. They usually emerge in the warm summer months, around June in this area... I wouldn't keep the firewood in a warm room just to be safe.....

 

[Backwoods Savage]

great pile of shagbark hickory is stacked behind my barn. good sun and drying breeze. covered with tarps on the top only. c/s/s about 2 yrs. reading 15-16 on my m.m. kinda forgot about it and this morning with the temp. at 9DEGREES! i decided to bring some in to feed the yukon husky. well i almost fell over when i discovered massive piles of a fine powder covering all the splits. holes in the wood about 1/4 in. long and oblong-not round. cuppla dead beatles were evident-black,about 1/2 in. long.
question is:WTH ARE THESE?? do they pose a larger threat than just chompin my wood? the wood is still very heavy,so they have not destroyed it like a termite would. i beat the powder off the splits,threw them in the wheel barrow and stacked them next to the yukon in the basement of the cabin. will the warmth from the yukon bring them to life and chew down our cabin(white pine logs 30+ yrs. old?} haven't attacked the barn-20 yr. old tulip poplar boards 1 1/2 in thick and 24in.+ wide.stacked up right against it. any ideas what i'm faced with? ky art

If you burn wood, most times sooner or later you'll run across them. Worry not though. Just be sure to knock that dust off the wood before taking into the house. We've found they like elm most of all.

 

[eclecticcottage]

*cringe* I hate those little round holes...See them too often in barns around here, and sometimes the old framing of houses (the hand hewn beams, or the ones that are just rough cut logs). Can't say that I've ever seen the little drillers though.

 

[ScotO]

*cringe* I hate those little round holes...See them too often in barns around here, and sometimes the old framing of houses (the hand hewn beams, or the ones that are just rough cut logs). Can't say that I've ever seen the little drillers though.

Those powder post beetles are small, cigar-like beetles. I usually see a "hatch" in early summer. Knock on wood but I've never seen them in my house. I always find the characteristic holes in standing dead maple. They will still be here on earth long after we're gone......

 

[raygard]

Can you imagine your whole wood pile turning to dust. Only held together by the excrement of the bug. You go to pick up a log and it crumbles in your hand. AAaaaggghhhh. [wake up from night mare]

 

[shoot-straight]

i got them this year too. lots of holes and sawdust everywhere. on the brightside, the holes will help the wood season better!

i put down some granular insecticide on the ground each year under my piles. hope it keeps them in check.

 

[Coach B]

They seem to like my stacked Shagbark Hickory as well. Haven't bothered the oak, locust, or hackberry at all.

 

[jeff_t]

I had these in some shag I cut a few years ago. Hickory borer beetle, a type of longhorn beetle, I believe. Only in the hickory, nothing else. Haven't cut any hickory since, haven't seen any since. Infiltrated the pile through the spring and summer.