WHERE'S YOUR WOOD?

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

THE POWDER POST PESTILENCE

While less well known than either the carpenter ant or the termite, the powder post beetle can also bring havoc to your household. Since this wood-borer prefers to attack hardwoods, it can damage oaken beams and furniture as well as your valuable stacked cords! The insects' small white larvae tunnel through wood, creating the pin-sized wormholes often seen in antique furniture. A dry, flourlike dust — that accumulates as the critters exit from the nest — is usually the first evidence of the powder post beetle's presence.

Obviously, the trick to beating woodboring bugs is to stop them before they camp out in your construction. Of course, if you're absolutely set on storing the winter's fuel supply inside, there are some commercial products (they can be purchased from many fertilizer dealers or nurseries) that will kill insects lurking in the firewood. If such chemicals are to be effective, however, each billet must be completely sprayed .. . and remember, we're talking about cords of wood! So — even if the environmental cost of using a pesticide doesn't concern you — the cash expense involved, and the mere logistics of treating every slab of firewood, could be staggering!

WHAT WE DID

Our household's insect attacks led us to conclude that the simplest and most labor- and cost-efficient way to keep the woodborers at bay is to store fuel away from the timbers of any building. We stack our wood a reasonable distance (25 feet) from the house, occasionally spot-check the pile for sawdust accumulations, and bring in only a half-day's supply at any one time.

Of course, just throwing the billets out back, even though it'll help protect your house, won't deter insects from settling in your firewood. Damp, decomposing lumber provides a perfect breeding ground for wood-boring critters (not to mention the fact that you'll decrease your stove's efficiency by burning wet or rotten timber). So, if you want to squeeze the maximum amount of heat from those precious logs and prevent pests from joining you by the fireside, building a proper woodpile is just as important as keeping the wood out of your basement.

Perhaps the most critical storage consideration is providing a cover to keep the wood dry. Such protection is a matter of convenience as well, because — if you don't shelter your fuel supply — once the freezing rains and snow arrive, you'll find yourself outside in a snowstorm one evening, chipping at the frozen logs with a sledge hammer and a chisel. And even if you are fortunate enough to pry a piece of the solid mass loose, you'll soon have a messy pool of melted ice in front of the fireplace.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print