WHERE'S YOUR WOOD?

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THE ANTS COME MUNCHING . . .

Of the various species of wood-boring arthropods, the carpenter ant poses perhaps the greatest threat to household timbers. The damage caused by this half-inch long black insect is often confused with that done by the termite . . . particularly in a colder regions of the country where the latter critter is less common.

However, upon close inspection you'll a see that the activities of the two species are quite different. Carpenter ants don't eat the wood (as termites do), but instead merely excavate galleries in which to store the queen's eggs. The tunnels — which are often detected when the log is split open — are made across the wood grain and look similar to bores made by a round-nosed gouge. Eventually, the burrowing weakens the wood to such an extent that the structure collapses.

Since carpenter ants must have moisture to live, they nest only in damp timber. Therefore, wet, unsheltered woodpiles often provide prime spots for the gnawing nuisances to set up housekeeping. The intruders may even expand into dry wood provided there's an adequate supply of water nearby.

(A series of piles of coarse sawdust — similar to those produced by a power saw — are sure signs of carpenter ant habitation. Such "leavings" simply fall from the excavations and collect on the surface below.)

TERMITE TORMENT

If you live in a southern state, termites will tend to be the main critters tasting your timber. The pale members of the Isoptera order can cause irreversible damage if not discovered — and eradicated — early after infestation.

The dry-wood (or powder post) termite is often brought into the house in firewood . . . and can be the bane of all but the most conscientious homesteader. Members of this species are able to absorb enough water from the air and the decomposition of their food to live without an additional source of moisture . . . and therefore attack even dry, seasoned fuel. Like the carpenter ant, this pest excavates across the wood grain. Piles of shed wings and sandlike pellets of partially digested wood are clues that drywood termites are trespassing nearby.

The subterranean termite, on the other hand, cannot exist in dry wood . .. it requires damp warm soil. Therefore, a stack of fuel piled against the house, resting on moist ground, provides an ideal nesting site for the pests. The termites may also commute — through earthen tubes — to the inside of a structure and excavate the dry wood of the support beams, returning at night to the moist soil. The galleries of this underground tunneler are cut parallel to the grain of the wood, and if you split the infested firewood, you'll find the channels covered with grayish-brown pellets of excrement.

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