Noisy Wood Pile #2 w/ a twist

[Dfw245]

Came across a thread about a noisy Wood Pile. Answered my question immediately. However I have a slightly different issue. I understand green wood tends to attract the borders and other insects that chew thru the wood this that's the noise I'm hearing, and that there's no reason to worry because the fire will burn them either way. But for me, when the wood is seasoned I plan on using alot of it for smoking meats. That would eliminate alot of wood spraying solutions. But using wood full of critters I imagine wouldn't be good for smoking. Is there something I can do?

Also, is there any particular reason why they seem to be having a crazy party in my Mesquite but seem to not be remotely touching my oak?

 

[Dfw245]

Anyone?

 

[firefighterjake]

Some folks like Hawaiian pizzas . . . some prefer pepperoni. Maybe your bugs prefer the mesquite vs. the oak.

 

[Dfw245]

Some folks like Hawaiian pizzas . . . some prefer pepperoni. Maybe your bugs prefer the mesquite vs. the oak.

Now that's hilarious lol Any way to get rid of these suckers? I see wood dust everywhere from all of the holes

 

[firefighterjake]

Now that's hilarious lol Any way to get rid of these suckers? I see wood dust everywhere from all of the holes

Some folks spray or dust their wood . . . I just think of it as the bugs are helping me out by aerating my wood. In either case when I burn the wood I rarely if ever see any bugs. I figure they've either moved on or are hibernating and then shortly thereafter cremated.

 

[Dfw245]

W

Some folks spray or dust their wood . . . I just think of it as the bugs are helping me out by aerating my wood. In either case when I burn the wood I rarely if ever see any bugs. I figure they've either moved on or are hibernating and then shortly thereafter cremated.

Well in a sense that would be perfect if I were only burning it for heat/firewood. But since I'm using it to smoke food with, could that present a problem? And they won't be inactive during the summer time I don't believe, which is peak smoking time

 

[stoveliker]

Can I ask, are you smoking commercially (i.e. a restaurant)? Or only for yourself (and family and friends)?

 

[Dfw245]

Can I ask, are you smoking commercially (i.e. a restaurant)? Or only for yourself (and family and friends)?

Not commercially, no. Family and friends yes. But more than the avg person. Probably around 10x or more a month. Not grilling....smoking. competitions are in my near future tho. Why the curiosity? Does that limit my options?

 

[stoveliker]

No. Just curious. And jealous. But if you'd have a restaurant I'd write down name and location and visit when I'm in the neighborhood 🙂

 

[Dfw245]

No. Just curious. And jealous. But if you'd have a restaurant I'd write down name and location and visit when I'm in the neighborhood 🙂

Gotcha!! Well no need to be jealous of lil ol me lol I do plan on smoking some ribs here in the very near future, just really want to get this mesquite bugs situation sorted out. I'd really love to use some it, but since I'm bug squeamish and my wood seems to be filled with in addition to not knowing how to rid the wood of them...idk if I'll be able to use it

 

[stoveliker]

Gotcha!! Well no need to be jealous of lil ol me lol I do plan on smoking some ribs here in the very near future, just really want to get this mesquite bugs situation sorted out. I'd really love to use some it, but since I'm bug squeamish and my wood seems to be filled with in addition to not knowing how to rid the wood of them...idk if I'll be able to use it

I wonder if a poorly vented or nonvented solar kil in the TX sun would kill the bugs without having to resort to stuff one would not want on food.

@Woodsplitter67 (if my memory serves me correctly) is the residential solar kiln expert, though from NJ I think, not from a southern state. But if bugs die in NJ kilns, then certainly in TX.

And since you have relatively small amounts of wood (I think...), it may be feasible to have a small solar kiln for wood that suffers from bugs?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I have no idea if this would help, but I occasionally use food grade Diatomaceous Earth on and around garden plants when I need to control bugs. (Make sure not to get pool filter DE, which is sold everywhere down here in Texas, including in garden departments of stores where pool chemicals are also kept). It lacerates the bugs mechanically rather than killing through poison. You could shake or hose it off the wood before using if you wanted to, but if you do dust it on, be sure not to breathe in the fine powder.

Often bugs will chew on green/unseasoned/damp wood but will leave when the wood dries out more. Do you know the moisture content on that mesquite?

 

[Dfw245]

I'll have to look into that Earth. See if that'll be feasible. I don't have ALOT per se, but it is alot for me. Probably about a couple cords worth. Maybe more realistically 3 cords of misc wood. But only the 1 cord of mesquite is being affected. The other random half cords of oak, cherry, pecan, elm, and Bradford pear with a little hackberry and ash...aren't affected. Literally just the mesquite.

It's all on the back porch tho, uncovered and in direct heat. I also live in a bit of a wind tunnel. Lowest wind speed I've seen so far is about 11mph this year. So dusting this earth on it, may have to use a mask or something while applying? And the moisture is very high on it. It's green green. Around 40%+ maybe a month ago. So it has a ways to go to season. If they leave the wood as it dries maybe that's why they aren't attacking the other woods I have. Harder wood? The cherry is at about 20%. Pecan is at 45ish. White/red oak is green and newly split as well.

I'll look into the solar kiln thing to. Or ask around about it. How exactly does that ward off bugs? And is that something I can manage? Or is that more of a 'find a local kiln' type thing?

 

[Dfw245]

Should I be getting food grade DE? Or?

 

[stoveliker]

Much "kiln dried firewood" is not dried but heated to kill the bugs. Hence the kiln idea above.

 

[Dfw245]

Much "kiln dried firewood" is not dried but heated to kill the bugs. Hence the kiln idea above.

Ohhh ok. I need to jump on that then

 

[stoveliker]

I don't know what temps are used in such 'bug killing " kiln drying and how that compares to solar kilns. But there is a thread by the poster noted above with many data including temperatures. Yours would likely be higher.

 

[Corey]

You might be able to do some research - either online or through a county cooperative extension program and see exactly what 'bugs' are in the wood pile. Possibly they have a natural predator or natural solution for pest control. Possibly encouraging birds or other non-harmful insects around the wood pile could control the pest.

 

[Dfw245]

You might be able to do some research - either online or through a county cooperative extension program and see exactly what 'bugs' are in the wood pile. Possibly they have a natural predator or natural solution for pest control. Possibly encouraging birds or other non-harmful insects around the wood pile could control the pest.

They are borers. Honestly not even sure where they came from unless the wood had some in it previously or during transport. I thought about spraying the entire pile with peppermint oil solution. Seems to literally drive everything off from what I've read.

Also, I've looked into that solar kiln thing. That's very interesting. And as you said with it being tx, those temps would be ALOT higher. Looks like about a 30-40° delta. So if that's the case, I'd probably see temps of 130+ inside the kiln regularly.

 

[stoveliker]

woodsplitter67 sees temps of 130 in the kilns in NJ. You should be higher than that if you position it well (w.r.t. sun) - as the sun is stronger down south than up here.

Given that the mesquite is only a cord or so, one kiln for "trouble wood" may do the trick. But again, I don't know what kiln drying temps meant for bug killing are. A 10 second google gives me 120-190. You should be able to get 150 F I'd say, maybe higher, depending on how closed you keep it. That should be enough for most bugs to die, I'd say.

(For drying purposes, you want a hole at the top to have the hot air leave after it sucked the moisture out of the wood. In this case, it may be fine to have the moisture condense on the plastic and run down - keeping the air hot in the kiln. Then do make sure the water running down the plastic does not touch your wood or cannot fall on your wood. If you don't have a hole at the top, the temps will increase more, so you have the NJ -> TX advantage AND a design advantage with no hole. So 130 -> 150 should be possible in my estimation. )

 

[Dfw245]

woodsplitter67 sees temps of 130 in the kilns in NJ. You should be higher than that if you position it well (w.r.t. sun) - as the sun is stronger down south than up here.

Given that the mesquite is only a cord or so, one kiln for "trouble wood" may do the trick. But again, I don't know what kiln drying temps meant for bug killing are. A 10 second google gives me 120-190. You should be able to get 150 F I'd say, maybe higher, depending on how closed you keep it. That should be enough for most bugs to die, I'd say.

(For drying purposes, you want a hole at the top to have the hot air leave after it sucked the moisture out of the wood. In this case, it may be fine to have the moisture condense on the plastic and run down - keeping the air hot in the kiln. Then do make sure the water running down the plastic does not touch your wood or cannot fall on your wood. If you don't have a hole at the top, the temps will increase more, so you have the NJ -> TX advantage AND a design advantage with no hole. So 130 -> 150 should be possible in my estimation. )

Thanks for that quick google. I wish I could Google it without any bug photos 😣. I may definitely have to try that. But at the same time, if it's because the wood is so green, if I speed up the drying process wouldnt that also eradicate them? Yeah sometimes out here the heat index is 107-115. And I'm not in the city at all. Rural. Not 100% rural but, out of city limits. So I'm getting direct sunlight and constant wind. I think that'd be perfect for a kiln

 

[stoveliker]

The kiln does speed up drying (which is why some folks do it; in urgent need of dry wood...). At the same time, I could imagine things dying off in a day at 150 F. You can then either leave it in the kiln to dry quickly or remove the kiln.

Another googling tells me that to kill insects in firewood it needs to be up to 130 F for a few hours (throughout the whole wood, so not only the air). A good, long, sunny day in TX will do that, I think. Without giving peppermint taste to your smoked meat.

And then if you don't like the view of the plastic, take it off and store it for the next time you have an issue bugging you - or a bug issue.

 

[Dfw245]

The kiln does speed up drying (which is why some folks do it; in urgent need of dry wood...). At the same time, I could imagine things dying off in a day at 150 F. You can then either leave it in the kiln to dry quickly or remove the kiln.

Another googling tells me that to kill insects in firewood it needs to be up to 130 F for a few hours (throughout the whole wood, so not only the air). A good, long, sunny day in TX will do that, I think. Without giving peppermint taste to your smoked meat.

And then if you don't like the view of the plastic, take it off and store it for the next time you have an issue bugging you - or a bug issue.

Sounds like a good idea. I'd prolly leave the kiln. Go ahead n dry it out. Why not right? Not like I have a wood stove. All I have is a fireplace and a smoker. So pbbbttt.

Omg thank you for the bug googling. I wish I were able to look it up myself. But sometimes the random pic at the top of the screen is enough to ruin my day 🙄. So thanks for that a ton. It'll even be hard for me to move the wood with them inside let alone seeing them. But yeah I couldn't see 150 F NOT killing them off after a day or so. It's been unseasonably cool. So far anyway. And very wet. So hopefully all this rain stops and the heat kicks in full gear.

Ha...I see what you did there lol

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I see that you saw woodsplitter67’s thread about how to construct a kiln, so you should be good to go.

I don’t mind most insects too much (unless they’re eating my vegetable garden and fire ants, which I mind at all times, but especially in my garden since they not only sting me but also actually eat my crops), but arachnids are a different matter. I know what you mean about photos on web pages. It can just be too much. A dead tarantula has been outside my garage for a couple of days now. I can’t bring myself to move it. My husband is going to have to take care of it.

I’m envious of your rain, but I’ll pass on any hail or tornadoes. We had 1/4 inch in March and just got 1/4 inch two nights ago, but that’s been it for months. It is good for firewood seasoning.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

sorry guys late to the party. I have not used a kiln to kill insects. I have not had insects when doing the kiln either. If I had an insect issue. I would do a kiln for the wod with minimal ventilation.. In summer iv gotten temps of the low 140s.. in texas you should be able to achieve at least 150 ish. I dont think you will kill bugs, but most likely drive them away, making the area uninhabitable..