Firewood rack / seasoning wood

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

Hey all was wanting to get some tips maybe on under the wood rack I should add some crushed stone under and around the whole wood rack to help with moisture and also maybe prevent bugs from getting to the wood?

 

[imhungrymk]

I think stones will attract bugs and maybe snakes if the stones get sunlight and warm up. I am wondering if you built a cover or if you are going to tarp it?

 

[Alphonse]

I think the most important thing to do is get a tarp over it all and keep it dry. You are avoiding ground contact which is crucial and keeping it dry is next.

Not sure where you live but here in the deep south the termites love wet wood. So keeping it off the ground and dry is critical.

 

[bill ace 350]

Don't overthink it.

Don't cover with a tarp until it is seasoned, otherwise it traps moisture and restricts airflow, taking longer to season.

Once seasoned, cover when absolutely necessary, but make sure moisture can still escape, good airflow....

 

[flatbroke]

The tarp in the right pic is perfect except for the part that isn’t covered lol. You have it off of the ground as is good to go. Can’t keep bugs out.

 

[joetee]

Off the ground and covering the top. Leave the sides exposed for air flow.
Oh and also don't stack close to your home or garage walls. If termites ever get started in it they will also move to your walls.

 

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

Ya that one tarp is short..hahah ok thanks everyone !

 

[Winterrider]

The more airflow the better. If bugs and such start showing up, spray it and the ground with Tempo. That will keep a variety of little critters away. Pet friendly.

 

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

Thanks for the tip! I'm stocking my wood inventory up for the start of my side bbq business . only one life to live might as well take a crack at this.

 

[Smokin Okie]

A sure way to deter termites or carpenter ants is to use Taurus SC , which the active incredient is fipronil. There's also a product called Termidor that is also fipronil but higher priced. There's also lower priced fipronil under the brand name of Combat, but its 1% fipronil. Taurus and Termidor are 9% fipronil and this is the strength used by exterminators, which can be purchased by us consumers.

I had a carpenter ant infestation in my wood pile. And even though it was 60 foot from the house, they spread to my house. I talked to an exterminator and he told me he would use Taurus SC. I had been using a bait called Optigard, which would've eventually eliminated the ant colony, but Taurus SC got rid of them immediately.

Taurus is not cheap, something like $50 for a 12 oz bottle. But it does not take much and is very effective. Its a bait that the ants/termites carry back to the colony and spreads it to the queens and male workers. Most baits are gels. This one being a spray can cover a lot more space. It works.

After treating my house ( there's a lot of YT vids on how to use termidor to treat your house ) I took it to my wood pile. I put my wood up on blocks, just as you've done, but before putting wood on the rack I sprayed the ground below the rack and the rack with Taurus. I then put my smoker wood on the rack. It got rid of the carpenter ants without spraying my smoker wood.

I also had termites in the area of my wood pile and I've not seen any trace of them since spraying with Taurus.

Actually, carpenter ants and other wood boring bugs, are helpful to seasoning the wood and don't really do any harm to the wood for smoking purposes. But the problem is they will spread to the house. In the spring, when the weather is right which is low wind and the right temperature, some of the queens of a carpenter ant colony will leave and fly off to start a new colony elsewhere. I watched this happen with the colony in my house. They can easily spread from a wood pile to the house.

 

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

Wow and ill use your experience to my advantage now hahahaha..i figured laying down stone in that whole area and spraying that will keep them at my neighbors hahahha

 

[pineywoods]

I like a roof over the pile sticking out a little on all sides to try to keep the blow in rain down. Doesn't have to be fancy just has to work. As was said out of the rain but as much airflow as possible.

 

[Chasdev]

Good luck to you sir, I had to sell $800 worth of oak after the rats, wood roaches and spiders found it.
Had it on metal racks off the ground and tarped.
After moving it out of the back yard, the rats took up residence under a shed and in the garden.
Two years later and I just finished off killing and/or relocating the tribe.
Helpful hint, the electrical kill boxes work great but can't take morning dew so you will lose a few to the moisture.
Rats are VERY savy critters and after a while they learn to avoid whatever you put out so we switched to live trapping them and taking them on a drive into the country to feed the snakes/hawks.