We live in the deep South where insects are plentiful. In years past, any wood that's stacked and leftover for the following year seems to attract insects. We had a friend/tree professional put 9 trees on the ground for us last Fall. We're just now trying to get them up. We'll probably be using the splitter early mornings all Summer. My question is, would it be the thing to do to spray around the wood occasionally? This wood should last us for a while if the bugs will stay out of it. After stacking, we keep it covered with pieces of tin. We don't have a wood shed.
Spraying Wood for Insects
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Any toxic substance that will kill insects will pose a problem in your home when the wood is brought in. We do get occasional moths/bugs/mosquitoes waking up mid winter from wood that has been brought inside for burning and it is a pain sometimes.
An oil spray similar to a dormant spray might keep bugs from burrowing and will not be harmful to people. Not sure of anything else though.
An oil spray similar to a dormant spray might keep bugs from burrowing and will not be harmful to people. Not sure of anything else though.
Yeah, I was wondering if it would be toxic. We burn in a fireplace insert, not open fireplace, but still we'd be bringing the wood indoors. We store the wood on pallets, but first place the pallets on bricks. We might just spray the pallets before we store the wood. I guess that might help a little.
I have a different opinion. Even water is toxic so you can't just throw the baby out with the bathwater on this. Spray your wood, spray your house, use chemicals to improve your life. I certainly spray my wood which is stored like yours. Do not believe the theory that dry wood harbors no bugs, it still does and I don't want those bugs crawling around in the house.
If you can keep the wood off the ground and covered, that will help a lot to minimize bugs. However, it might still be necessary or preferable to spray, and if you do I wouldn't worry too much about the toxic smoke that would result from burning the wood. I'd try to spray the things the wood is stacked on, rather than the wood itself if possible.
Dry wood is generally fairly bug-free. The main thing I see is those wood roaches (which aren't cockroaches,) and they bail out and run away if I knock the splits together before I bring 'em in. If a bug does make it inside, it just crawls off and dies in a corner somewhere before I ever see it. If I was that worried about a dandelion in my lawn or a bug in my house, I might spend my money on a couple of couch sessions instead of on chemicals to poison my indoor and outdoor environment.
We are creatures too, you know, and we're much more dangerous than any bug. To "improve life," start by poisoning the humans. 
Hickorynut
Feeling the Heat
I have been stacking and burning wood a little over twenty years and the only bugs that bother me are the ones that bore inside the wood and make piles of sawdust. They can do some serious damage in my opinion. For me, it has been in hickory, hedge apple and persimmon. I spray around the house and workshop for wood bees and spiders with some permeithin etc. and I think I will spray the hedge apple and persimmon I cut this spring and see if it makes a difference. PS. I have worked in a chemical lab for 38 years so if chemicals are going to kill me they have already done their damage.
In my neck of the woods, black ants are the bug I battle. They get into any wet rotted wood. standing trees, rounds on the ground or split wood. Slit, dry, solid wood is by far the best at not becoming there home. When I split, sometimes a round will have thousands of them, Into the fire pit it goes. My stacks are covered. For the first time this year I grabbed from the stacks and it had ants, all dormant due to the cold. My guess there was a water leek in the top cover. There are other bugs in my stacks, mostly wood boring that I only see the saw dust, not the bugs. They seam to live in softer wood. Not in the oak that is 90 prevent of my stacks.
What I do, stack and top cover solid dry wood. Store it some distance for the house. Move the seasons wood closer to the house after the first freeze. Store a weeks wood on the covered side deck just outside the stove room. We only bring wood inside as it goes into the stove. It keeps the stove hearth spotless and never see any bugs.
What I do, stack and top cover solid dry wood. Store it some distance for the house. Move the seasons wood closer to the house after the first freeze. Store a weeks wood on the covered side deck just outside the stove room. We only bring wood inside as it goes into the stove. It keeps the stove hearth spotless and never see any bugs.
Ain't nuthin' funner than having a wasp come to life as you try to toss another split into the stove. It feels like 10 splinters in the webbings of the old fingers. 
Hills Hoard
Minister of Fire
a few times i have split a round and opened up a nest of ants or something so i have just sprayed them quickly with house hold bug spray....but i have read on here a few times that split seasoned or drying wood is pretty safe and pests prefer green wood.
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