Last Updated on June 15, 2023 by Grow with Bovees
Termites can be quite the headache for a lot of people, and keeping them away from your firewood pile or any other natural wood furniture or structures you have in our yard can be quite the task. Especially if you have a termite infestation already.
In this article we will be looking at some key deterrents for termites, how to treat an ongoing termite infestation and how the proper protection and storage of your wood, can be the best defense against termites and other pests and insects such as bark beetles.
Guidelines on How To Store Firewood To Avoid Termites:
Keep The Firewood Log Pile In A Dry Place
One of the best ways to avoid termites is to make sure that your firewood does not become too damp.
Keeping moisture levels low and protecting your firewood pile from water will slow down wood rot and protect your firewood stack from dampwood termites and subterranean termites. Storing firewood inside will solve this problem immediately.
When attempting to keep your firewood pile dry, it’s good to store ricks of firewood off the ground, by stacking firewood on a ground sheet or tarp, to protect it from the ground moisture seeping in.
Building a shed roof over it or using a plastic sheet to protect it from the rain and from snowfall is also advisable. Always make sure that your wood pile has ample airflow too. A dry firewood rack and lots of direct sunlight will keep your wood dry and your firewood logs safe.
All in all, store firewood dry to protect it from insects and to avoid termites.
Keep Your Yard Clean
A clean yard is the best way to make sure you do not attract termites. Making sure there are no rotting pieces of firewood or old tree branches or tree stumps lying around, is a great first deterrent to keep away unwanted pests or insects.
Filling up any unnecessary water holes or spots where water has collected, is also part of the deal. An over moist garden will make the environment more termite friendly.
If you have a compost heap for getting rid of old chopped wood or foliage, make sure you treat it with hot water and boric acid from time to time, to get rid of any termites that have already shown an interest.
Termite Granules
A very effective method for keeping termites away is by using a chemical treatment. Treating the area around your firewood pile with termite granules is a great way of protecting from an infestation in firewood.
Simply buy some granules at your local hardware store or garden center, sprinkle it around your entire firewood storage and douse it with water. The granules will dissolve into the ground and kill any termites that may already be putting your firewood at risk.
Depending on your watering frequency and the weather, this treatment may be effective for up to six months. Use this to prevent termites from eating up your firewood storage.
Keep an Eye on Your Stack
Keeping a close eye on your firewood is also important. If there are any logs that have become severely rotten, get rid of them immediately and treat your pile with boric acid and hot water.
If you can spot any smooth tunnels on the surface or going into your wood, you might have a carpenter ants infestation. These may also be termite tunnels.
Monitoring your pile from time to time is a good way of keeping firewood pests at bay and preventing your firewood from becoming a food source for insects.
Treating Termite Infestation in Firewood
In terms of pests and termites, prevention is always better than cure. Making sure your wood stack is safe and keeping an infestation at bay is always better than finding yourself in need of an exterminator. Here are several things that can be done, should you find yourself in the middle of an infestation of firewood pests.
Expose The Wood To Sunlight
Termites prefer living in the dark, so uncovering your wood pile regularly and exposing it to sunlight, will force the termites to look for a more suitable habitat. Keep it covered to keep it dry, but open it from time to time to let some sun in.
Drying The Wood
Damp wood is what termites love, so drying your wood with sunshine and a solid airflow will sort out termite infested firewood. Splitting firewood into smaller pieces to help them dry out faster, is also an effective method. Cover up your firewood to avoid termites from getting to it.
Chemical Solutions
Check out the hardware store for some pesticides and chemicals. Make sure you know what you’re doing though, insecticides such as arsenic trioxide and permethrin are dangerous and can be hazardous to your health. Also, ask to make sure your pile of firewood is still safe to burn after having been treated with chemicals. Burning firewood with pesticides may release toxic fumes that could be harmful to your health.
Pest Control Company
If all else fails and you can’t seem to get a grip on your pest infestation, call the pest control guys. Termite-infested firewood can be costly if you have a large storage of wood. Before losing this wood, it might be best to call in the pest control experts to take care of your pest problems.
Fire it up
A last resort would be to burn the pieces of wood that are so heavily infested with termites that it renders the firewood useless. Attempt to separate the infested logs from your main pile and burn them to keep the rest of your wood safe.
Conclusion
Termites in firewood are no joke, trust me. Whether you only have a handful of firewood or heaps of unsplit firewood lying around, you should always take certain precautions to keep termites and other pests such as yard wood roaches and carpenter ants away from your stack.
Following the above storage instructions on how to store firewood to avoid termites, is a very good start to keeping your wood safe. If there is a noticeable infestation, do not wait too long until you do something about it. The longer you wait, the worse the damage will be and the more difficult it will be to get rid of termites or other critters.
I hope this helps in answering any questions about how to store firewood to avoid termites and other pests and bugs.
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