Stacking lots of wood in house?

[begreen]

For us it's an occasional hornet overwintering in the stacks coming from the shed, but this is not big deal because we store it on the porch instead of the house.

 

[KennyK]

I am battling an ant colony under the floor in my den by the stove but i dont think wood is the culprit. I put out the bait traps and they eat and eat but it never seems to kill them, i think they like it that im feeding them. Those real small ants, not the big ones.

After years of having little to no success with ant bait traps, I finally discovered borax and it works amazingly well. Every spring the ants start to come into my house. I mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1.5 tablespoons of borax (more or less), which I bought real cheap at the local dollar store, and some warm water to make a pasty substance (a little more on the liquid side that paste), and put out some small plastic trays (like tops to disposable plastic soup containers or tupperware) and leave these in a few strategic locations where I have seen ants. Within a few hours, or certainly by the next morning, there is a swarm of ants around these feasting. I believe they bring it back to their nests too and within a week the problem is solved. You can look this up on the internet - some people use cotton balls wet with the mix instead of the trays, but I have found this method to work better for me.

 

[Mainewoodchucker]

After years of having little to no success with ant bait traps, I finally discovered borax and it works amazingly well. Every spring the ants start to come into my house. I mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1.5 tablespoons of borax (more or less), which I bought real cheap at the local dollar store, and some warm water to make a pasty substance (a little more on the liquid side that paste), and put out some small plastic trays (like tops to disposable plastic soup containers or tupperware) and leave these in a few strategic locations where I have seen ants. Within a few hours, or certainly by the next morning, there is a swarm of ants around these feasting. I believe they bring it back to their nests too and within a week the problem is solved. You can look this up on the internet - some people use cotton balls wet with the mix instead of the trays, but I have found this method to work better for me.

That is essentially what Terro is . Works great . Have tried the homebrew method also but for a few bucks a bottle I tend to just grab the Terro

 

[griam01]

I keep about 5 cords in the basement, not much of a bug problem besides spiders here and there. I am battling an ant colony under the floor in my den by the stove but i dont think wood is the culprit. I put out the bait traps and they eat and eat but it never seems to kill them, i think they like it that im feeding them. Those real small ants, not the big ones.

Use borax and sugar water. Place cotton balls soaked in the mixture and the ants will eat it and take it back to the colony and it will kill them. I had a bunch of ants near the floor by my stove too. I put this out for two days and they were gone.

 

[Tar12]

I keep at least a 5-6 day supply inside all winter long with at least a face cord on the porch at all times to rotate inside..very few insects.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

That is essentially what Terro is . Works great . Have tried the homebrew method also but for a few bucks a bottle I tend to just grab the Terro

Terro doesnt seem to work for me, have had it out all winter in various spots, the ants seem to like it but they dont die. This morning i woke up to another batch crawling around on the floor by the stove. Guess i'll give the borax a whirl next. It's weird cause they will disappear for awhile, weeks sometimes, then all of a sudden they are back crawling all over.

 

[Bootstrap]

Terro doesnt seem to work for me, have had it out all winter in various spots, the ants seem to like it but they dont die. This morning i woke up to another batch crawling around on the floor by the stove. Guess i'll give the borax a whirl next. It's weird cause they will disappear for awhile, weeks sometimes, then all of a sudden they are back crawling all over.

And that is why wood shouldn't be stored inside beyond what you need for the day.

Theres just no way my wife is going to tolerate having ants all over.

 

[weatherguy]

I dropped a split as I was loading the stove the other day and some kind of bug scampered across the floor, don't know what it was as I hit it with my coal rake and tossed him into the stove.

 

[Knots]

And that is why wood shouldn't be stored inside beyond what you need for the day.

The wood I bring in is well seasoned and very dry. It has no ants in it. I've been doing it for years and never had an ant in the house. I'll continue to do it and put up with the few spiders I bring in.

Right now the snow around my house is waist deep, so there's no chance of just bringing a trailer load around back. The plow piles along my driveway run from four to seven feet high. It would take the National Guard to get to my outside stacks of wood. I'll keep stacking inside. I love it.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

And that is why wood shouldn't be stored inside beyond what you need for the day.

I dont think the ants are due to the wood in the basement. I cut into the flooring to put in my hearth pad, its under the flooring and i think they are coming in from down there. I dont have ants in the basement where the wood is stored. Burning wood is a messy operation no matter how you do it, just part of the deal.

 

[blueridgerider]

The wood I bring in is well seasoned and very dry. It has no ants in it. I've been doing it for years and never had an ant in the house. I'll continue to do it and put up with the few spiders I bring in.

Right now the snow around my house is waist deep, so there's no chance of just bringing a trailer load around back. The plow piles along my driveway run from four to seven feet high. It would take the National Guard to get to my outside stacks of wood. I'll keep stacking inside. I love it.

I would do same thing in your situation. For most of us it is adequate to have a cord or just a face cord (in my case) near the house in a covered spot. The previous owner of my house had made one 10X4X12 room into a woodroom for his wood burning furnace. Furnace was not in house when I bought it though and I made the wood room into a tool room with access from outside only.

 

[Knots]

I would do same thing in your situation. For most of us it is adequate to have a cord or just a face cord (in my case) near the house in a covered spot. The previous owner of my house had made one 10X4X12 room into a woodroom for his wood burning furnace. Furnace was not in house when I bought it though and I made the wood room into a tool room with access from outside only.

Yup - everyone's situation is different. I would like to have wood shed close to the driveway, but the only place possible is on the leach bed, and I don't put anything on that. I'd still have to cut through the plow furrows after every storm.

 

[memphis7]

6' away from the house, I started the season w/ a stack of wood ~4'X4'X20'. About 6' away from that, another stack 1 split length, about 2' wide X 5' X about 40'. From those stacks I use a chute thru the basement window to fill a stack 9' wide X 7' tall. Hardly any bugs. Been doing it this way for 2 years. Wood is well seasoned. Mostly ash. I try to pull off the loose bark as I split it. It is nice having the wood warmed inside by the stove ready to toss in the stove.

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[Knots]

I have to add - I pull out all the questionable looking wood when I'm bringing the good stuff in. In the fall, the buggy stuff goes directly from the outside to the stove and spends no time inside.

 

[memphis7]

I have to add - I pull out all the questionable looking wood when I'm bringing the good stuff in. In the fall, the buggy stuff goes directly from the outside to the stove and spends no time inside.

Burn the bugs!!

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[Knots]

Burn the bugs!!

They taste better well done!

 

[coaly]

Before everyone (but me) had built in kitchen cabinets, kitchen furniture such as baking cabinets had a saucer type ring around the leg for Borax and sugar. I set the roller in Fisher Feet. Here you can see the Borax cup.

 

[maple1]

And that is why wood shouldn't be stored inside beyond what you need for the day.

Theres just no way my wife is going to tolerate having ants all over.

My whole winters wood goes in the basement in the fall. I have like up to 7-8 cords down there for half the year, with some leftover over the summer. We get some ants in the house, but that happens mid-summer when the wood is at minimum and they come in from the opposite corner of the house, where we have some mulched flower bed like stuff going on. Ant Bait handles them.

I put it in very dry and move the wood from pallet to wheelbarrow just outside the door. So it also goes in very clean with minimal chance of buggage. It's a PITA handling it that one extra time, but it makes for much cleaner wood. I used to wheel the pallets right inside but having gone to an extra year of seasoning makes for an extra year of time for the pallet to accumulate 'stuff'. Mainly old mouse nests.

 

[weatherguy]

My brother in law puts 7 cords in his unfinished basement every October and swears he never gets bugs.

 

[maple1]

Everyone that I know who burns wood around here does the same thing. Have never heard of any bug problems. My father has been doing it for 50 some years now. Where you live & the general bug situation in your area might come into play, I suppose.

 

[saewoody]

I keep at least a 5-6 day supply inside all winter long with at least a face cord on the porch at all times to rotate inside..very few insects.

Very similar to what I do. However I only keep about 3-4 days worth in the House. Facecord just outside the back door.


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[jetsam]

I have a little trailer for my lawn tractor. In the winter I stack it full of wood and park it in the garage about once a week. If weather doesn't permit, I still do the same thing, but I take the truck out to the stacks instead of the lawn tractor.



I really like the closet idea. Do you think if I framed up a drywall wall, put it behind the couch, and then scooted it out about 1/4" every day, my wife would notice that I was adding a woodshed to the living room??

 

[ToltingColtAcres]

For those of you that pile your wood inside, how do you deal with the bugs?

My house is 300 years old. I have so many bugs already, what’s a few more?

 

[Itsals1]

I really don't want much more than days supply or there about inside the house. I use our PUG and haul in a load and park it in our attached garage. This will usually last 1 1/2-2 weeks. I've stacked wood in the basement a couple of years, but our stove is on the main floor and it is to much work to go up and down the stairs to get wood. Loading the PUG and parking in the garage method seems to work good, I just want to build some sort of a wood shed. We currently have plastic pallets and tarps to keep the rain and snow off.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Never had an issue with insects. However I never harvest dead trees..either standing or down. And I use my leaf blower on a stack before bringing it inside. I've had an entire cord in my living room before with no problems...
View attachment 223960

What living room?