If you're like many modern homeowners, you've been feeling the pinch of rising utility costs lately and are thinking about having a wood-burning appliance installed in your home. However, having a wood-burning appliance in your home doesn't come without its own set of potential problems. Firewood, for instance, offers a great way for various pests to gain access to your home interior under the right conditions. Fortunately, you can minimize this by taking a few precautions.
Following are three things that you should know about insect pests and firewood.
Don't Stack Firewood on Porches or Against the Side of the House
Having a nice stack of firewood conveniently located on your front porch or on the side of your house may seem ideal, but this invites problems with pests. Termites, for instance, are sometimes found in firewood. Although it's generally considered safe to burn this firewood, problems with termites can arise depending on how and where it's stored. Having it right up against the house or on the porch is simply asking for trouble because it provides termites with immediate access. Carpenter ants are another culprit that loves to shelter in a nice warm pile of firewood that can quickly access your home from wood stacked on the porch or against the side.
Don't Allow Your Woodpile to Get Wet
Damp wood attracts pests, so keep your woodpile dry either by storing it in a shed or under a tarp. Air circulation is important, so if you decide to go the tarp route, use poles to create a shelter and make sure the bottom of the tarp is at least six inches from the top of the woodpile. It should also never be stored directly on the ground because moisture can seep upwards. Old pallets are good choices to use for a base to store your firewood because they keep it off the ground and provide air circulation for the bottom of the pile.
Don't Spray Your Woodpile With Pesticides
Although it may be tempting to spray your woodpile with pesticides in order to keep insect populations under control, this approach is not recommended. This will simply cause boring insects to burrow more deeply into the wood and will also render the wood potentially unsafe to burn due to harmful chemicals being released. If your woodpile becomes overcome with insect pests, the smart thing to do is to contact a professional exterminator for assistance.
Contact a service, like Budget Termite & Pest Control, for more help with pests.
After struggling for quite some time with pests inside of our home, I knew it had to stop. I was tired of going to bed everyday without knowing if the issue would be getting resolved, so I started investigating the matter. I realized that we had ants and spiders, so I spoked with a pest control professional about helping out. They were absolutely incredible to work with, and within a few weeks, the mess was sorted out. On this website, I began focusing on how to make things right, since you really never know which kinds of pests will impact your home.