sawdust?

[Charles2]

I have a place in a carport where I stack unsplit firewood to dry. It's on a concrete slab up against a brick wall. This year, for the first time, I noticed that the stack has a large amount of "sawdust" within it. It's not actually sawdust but I don't know what it is. I don't see any evidence of insect or termite infestation. What is this stuff?

 

[blades]

beetles ( old age can't remember the specific name) or similar vermin boring/chewing in wood- ah got it, Powder Post Beetles. and I didn't even have to Google it.

 

[Dobish]

^^^ What he said.

 

[BenTN]

Yep, powder post beetles, carpenter ants, miner bees.

 

[Charles2]

Like I said, I don't see any sign of the insects themselves. I split a piece of pine today and found a few "sawdust" channels within it. The sweetgum I split earlier looks normal. If insects have been tunneling in the pine, why would I see the dust on the outside of the pieces?

 

[firefighterjake]

Like I said, I don't see any sign of the insects themselves. I split a piece of pine today and found a few "sawdust" channels within it. The sweetgum I split earlier looks normal. If insects have been tunneling in the pine, why would I see the dust on the outside of the pieces?

Gotta move the sawdust somewhere that they're chewing up . . . so outside the tunnel it goes. Many of these insects are boring through the wood . . . not necessarily eating the wood as a meal.

 

[Woody5506]

I have the same issue in my wood piles and it seems to me that what you see is what you get, in that it typically doesn't get any worse than what's already there. They haven't turned my wood into swiss cheese looking splits.

 

[maple1]

Not sure it has any relevance to your sawdust, but I would split before I stack. That will get the wood drying much better & faster - usually bugs don't have a lot to do with dry wood.

 

[Jags]

And powder post beetles make tiny, tiny holes - as in pin head size. They could easily be overlooked without close inspection.

 

[Charles2]

Gotta move the sawdust somewhere that they're chewing up . . . so outside the tunnel it goes. Many of these insects are boring through the wood . . . not necessarily eating the wood as a meal.

Are the insects the same diameter as the tunnels? Maybe I should thank them because sawdust burns faster and hotter than solid wood.

Not sure it has any relevance to your sawdust, but I would split before I stack. That will get the wood drying much better & faster - usually bugs don't have a lot to do with dry wood.

Is that why I can't find the insects, because the wood is dry now?

And powder post beetles make tiny, tiny holes - as in pin head size. They could easily be overlooked without close inspection.

I never knew that a beetle could be that small.

 

[maple1]

Is that why I can't find the insects, because the wood is dry now?

No idea.

 

[xman23]

My saw dust holes are only in a few kinds of wood. Not in the oak. I try to burn the pieces with saw dust. But years of doing this hasn't gotten rid of the bugs.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I noticed when i started digging into this year stack i had a lot of fine wood chips laying everywhere and thought wtf? Wasnt fine enough to be considered saw dust but maybe a notch above that. had me stumped til i started noticing certain wood splits were debarked and looked gnawed on so im guessing squirrels or chipmunks were making a winter meal out of a certain bark they found palatable

 

[pernox]

I have a place in a carport where I stack unsplit firewood to dry. It's on a concrete slab up against a brick wall. This year, for the first time, I noticed that the stack has a large amount of "sawdust" within it. It's not actually sawdust but I don't know what it is. I don't see any evidence of insect or termite infestation. What is this stuff?

Real common on unsplit or recently split pine around here. They don't eat much and leave when the wood is dry. No cause for alarm.

 

[Soundchasm]

I scrounged an oak of some kind, probably some kind of white. I never specifically saw the reason it was cut down (lightning, disease, safety), but it seemed normal all through processing. Then I grabbed a seasoned split off a high row and got a face full of sawdust that was closer to flour than fine sand. Some of the splits I could pick up, turn on their end, and pour out a phenomenal amount of reddish dust.

Was that there during processing? Didn't see any bugs while it dried. All I know is that I sure paid attention handling that stuff in a wind storm. Definitely incompatible with eyeballs.

 

[Sodbuster]

What they all said,^ ^ ^ ^ had a lot in my Hickory this year, they'll be fuel this winter. Don't lose any sleep over it.