Wood preservative?

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I'm going to use three straight 8.5" diameter spruce poles from a tree I took down as posts for a covered porch. I need to use the drawknife to debark, and then soak up the wood with some kind of preservative to keep the bugs and rot away. Carpenter bees will be an issue, I'm not sure about termites. The posts will be completely under cover, and anchored to the concrete deck that's about 2' off the ground.

I'd like some recommendations for what preservative to use?

 

[PA Mountain Man]

We use Up Star Gold insecticide to control carpenter bees, stink bugs and ants. It works on termites also.
If the logs are not exposed to moisture, rot should not be an issue.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

We use Up Star Gold insecticide to control carpenter bees, stink bugs and ants. It works on termites also.
If the logs are not exposed to moisture, rot should not be an issue.

Thanks. Is this something that you use to treat the wood, or just apply when you see see the bugs?

 

[PA Mountain Man]

Our house got inundated with stink bugs a while back. Lots of wood siding. I mix 1 ounce Upstar to a gallon of water and spray the wood and about 2' out on the ground. The carpenter bees were always around the barn until I did the same treatment there. After first 2 years of treatment we go 2-3 years between treatments.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Our house got inundated with stink bugs a while back. Lots of wood siding. I mix 1 ounce Upstar to a gallon of water and spray the wood and about 2' out on the ground. The carpenter bees were always around the barn until I did the same treatment there. After first 2 years of treatment we go 2-3 years between treatments.

Thanks, good tip.

 

[SpaceBus]

Are these posts going to be in contact with the ground? I would get a carpenter bee trap and not treat the posts. The draw knife will not be an enjoyable tool with those knots all over, unless it is extremely sharp. Do you have a good sharp hatchet?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Borate would be my choice against any wood boring insects.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Are these posts going to be in contact with the ground? I would get a carpenter bee trap and not treat the posts. The draw knife will not be an enjoyable tool with those knots all over, unless it is extremely sharp. Do you have a good sharp hatchet?

Not in contact with the ground, on top of the concrete deck, about 2' above grade. I'll need to figure out how to anchor them.

It'll be interesting to see how the debarking goes. I'll need to put a good edge on the hatchet if the drawknife is too tough.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Borate would be my choice against any wood boring insects.

Would you dissolve it in something to apply it?

 

[SpaceBus]

Most boring insects won't bother the posts once you take the bark off. Simpson Strongtie makes good stuff for this application.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd use a product like boracare. Dissolve it in warm water and spray it on. Itll get absorbed into the wood. I find plenty of wood boring insects in wood without bark.

 

[SpaceBus]

I'd use a product like boracare. Dissolve it in warm water and spray it on. Itll get absorbed into the wood. I find plenty of wood boring insects in wood without bark.

In dry wood? Even dead standing trees I mill generally don't have any boring insects in them. Particularly once I start moving the logs around. We have tons of Long Horn beetles around here and they lay their eggs under the bark, as do most boring insects. If the bark is gone then the bugs won't have anywhere to lay eggs. Sometimes when I start rolling logs around and they bump together on my log table adult beetles will evacuate. If the logs already have juvenile boring insects inside of them then they will come out when becoming adults and no more will appear later on since the bark is gone. Once the wood is dry even the boring insects can't eat through the wood fibers.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

In dry wood? Even dead standing trees I mill generally don't have any boring insects in them. Particularly once I start moving the logs around. We have tons of Long Horn beetles around here and they lay their eggs under the bark, as do most boring insects. If the bark is gone then the bugs won't have anywhere to lay eggs. Sometimes when I start rolling logs around and they bump together on my log table adult beetles will evacuate. If the logs already have juvenile boring insects inside of them then they will come out when becoming adults and no more will appear later on since the bark is gone. Once the wood is dry even the boring insects can't eat through the wood fibers.

The carpenter bees will be an issue if I don't treat them. I also anticipate woodpeckers, I don't know what I'll do about them. I'm hoping whatever treatment I select will deter them as well.

 

[SpaceBus]

Sounds like some sort of Borax product applied with a garden sprayer is a good bet.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

In dry wood? Even dead standing trees I mill generally don't have any boring insects in them. Particularly once I start moving the logs around. We have tons of Long Horn beetles around here and they lay their eggs under the bark, as do most boring insects. If the bark is gone then the bugs won't have anywhere to lay eggs. Sometimes when I start rolling logs around and they bump together on my log table adult beetles will evacuate. If the logs already have juvenile boring insects inside of them then they will come out when becoming adults and no more will appear later on since the bark is gone. Once the wood is dry even the boring insects can't eat through the wood fibers.

Dry has less of them, but they aren't immune. Pretty much anything that will hurt your home I've seen in dry wood. Termites, carpenter bees, carpenter ants, powder post beetles. Those are the main ones in my area. You actually see less damage in unheated structures than heated ones. For instance in barns. Come winter all insect activity will cease. That doesn't always happen in your heated home.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Woodpeckers are a different beast altogether. If they are there to open the carpenter bee galleys, they'll leave you alone if you don't have carpenter bees. If they are banging on your house to let other woodpeckers know they're there, they'll still peck at your house. I've seen them go after metal road signs. Similar results if they are wanting a nesting cavity. Scaring them away with reflective stuff sometimes works. Too bad they are protected. They wouldn't be hard to trap.

 

[SpaceBus]

Woodpeckers are a different beast altogether. If they are there to open the carpenter bee galleys, they'll leave you alone if you don't have carpenter bees. If they are banging on your house to let other woodpeckers know they're there, they'll still peck at your house. I've seen them go after metal road signs. Similar results if they are wanting a nesting cavity. Scaring them away with reflective stuff sometimes works. Too bad they are protected. They wouldn't be hard to trap.

Back at Fort Bragg there are Red Cockaded woodpeckers, which are of course very seriously protected. If we had to do training or a range on a hot summer day we would pray for the woodpeckers to show up so we would be forced to cancel. In the six years I spent at Fort Bragg I did not see a single Red Cockaded woodpecker.

I did assume that if you could clear the wood of pests the woodpeckers would not bother it. The only wood boring pest I've seen go after dry lumber are carpenter bees, everything else seems to abandon the wood once it dries. Termites are bad because they live in the dirt, not the wood.

 

[Nate R]

Not in contact with the ground, on top of the concrete deck, about 2' above grade. I'll need to figure out how to anchor them.

It'll be interesting to see how the debarking goes. I'll need to put a good edge on the hatchet if the drawknife is too tough.

I almost did this for my cabin porch post with a red pine log, but ultimately decided against it and went with a green 6x6 cedar post instead. In my case, it will be screened in eventually, so the right angles help.... Now I have a 10' red pine log drying in my shed for firewood, I guess.

Anyway, I looked hard for a while at how I'd anchor the red pine post..... Timberlinx was one option I came across. See the link here: Timberlinx and take a look at page 17, sheet "TX11" shows how it could be used as a post base.

Simpson also makes a round post base/standoff setup: Simpson that comes in 6 inch and 10 inch diameters.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I almost did this for my cabin porch post with a red pine log, but ultimately decided against it and went with a green 6x6 cedar post instead. In my case, it will be screened in eventually, so the right angles help.... Now I have a 10' red pine log drying in my shed for firewood, I guess.

Anyway, I looked hard for a while at how I'd anchor the red pine post..... Timberlinx was one option I came across. See the link here: Timberlinx and take a look at page 17, sheet "TX11" shows how it could be used as a post base.

Simpson also makes a round post base/standoff setup: Simpson that comes in 6 inch and 10 inch diameters.

That's good stuff. My poles are between 8" and 9". I'm thinking the 6" simpson with another steel disk cut to the size of bottom of the post as a shim between the simpson base and the post should do it.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Back at Fort Bragg there are Red Cockaded woodpeckers, which are of course very seriously protected. If we had to do training or a range on a hot summer day we would pray for the woodpeckers to show up so we would be forced to cancel. In the six years I spent at Fort Bragg I did not see a single Red Cockaded woodpecker.

I did assume that if you could clear the wood of pests the woodpeckers would not bother it. The only wood boring pest I've seen go after dry lumber are carpenter bees, everything else seems to abandon the wood once it dries. Termites are bad because they live in the dirt, not the wood.

If they stayed in the dirt, all would be well! Lol.


They'll make mud tunnels up a foundation to keep the relative humidity high. Once they get into your house, they'll be happy.

We're lucky though. In the north we have the Subterranean termite. Down south, they have the Formosan termite. They will start a colony where they land. Like on a roof. They've chewed treated telephone poles in half!

 

[Sawset]

We used "bug slayer" to control things like asian ladybugs and box elder bugs coming into the house (active ingredient deltamethrin).
It worked same as posted above for Up Star Gold - (active ingredient bifenthrin)- spray one year, (around the sill plate and door jambs), and not need to redo for several years.

Both I believe are synthetic pyrethrins.

Online info:
Deltamethrin and bifenthrin have come in Liquid (Bifen I/T) or granular products (Deltamethrin) that can be applied to an area appropriate for insecticide use.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You are correct. Both are synthetic pyrethroids.

 

[johneh]

A little sidetrack don't set the posts directly om
concrete but a gasket between if not you are setting the posts up to rot

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

A little sidetrack don't set the posts directly om
concrete but a gasket between if not you are setting the posts up to rot

Good tip. I plan on using simpson post bases (or something similar) to keep them off the concrete.

 

[PA Mountain Man]

You are correct. Both are synthetic pyrethroids.

Does that translate to "long term bug killer"?