If you have a real fire or a wood-burning stove then you’re going to need a stack of firewood to help you stay warm throughout the winter. You’re certainly not alone. In fact, in recent years wood has become a more popular source of heat.
The problem with wood heating is that you need a woodpile, and that attracts an array of pests. A large stack of wood creates a number of hiding places that mice and insects love. You can unwittingly bring them into your home when you are fetching firewood.
Alongside this, they can use the woodpile as a stopping off point to help them get to your home. It can be particularly concerning if you get termites into your home, they can do a significant amount of damage. If you think they have breached your defenses you need to contact the exterminators straight away.
Keep The Pile As Far Away As possible
The first rule is to keep your woodpile as far away as possible from your home. Ideally, that means 20ft or more. This is far enough away that most pests will not try to hop from your woodpile to your house.
Elevation
Most people don’t realize this but elevating your woodpile makes it much harder for pests to get into it. There are many different ways to elevate your wood but you’ll find that using concrete blocks is a great way to start and firewood grates can also be effective.
Oldest Wood First
If you simply take the wood closest to you then you will be creating a section of old wood that never gets used. This can become rotten and a waste of space. But, this also encourages an infestation of pests to get comfortable. After all, if they are not disturbed they will stay indefinitely.
It’s better to rotate your wood periodically and prevent pests from having the chance to get comfortable.
It’s worth verifying that any pest inspector checks your woodpile as well. These ones do, check them out now!
Visual Inspections
If you’re bringing firewood into the house then visually inspect it before you take it in. This will help to ensure there are no pests on it. It’s also a good idea to burn it straight away, this prevents any pests from having the opportunity to escape and cause damage to your home.
If you don’t do this you’ll find that any insects in the wood appreciate the warmth in your home and will come out of the wood to explore. That’s not a good thing.
Keep It Dry
Good quality firewood is seasoned. That means it has had time to dry properly. Having allowed it to dry you don’t want it getting wet while it’s waiting to be used. Cover the woodpile or place it inside a building. Wet wood will attract more pests and increase the likelihood of an issue in your home.
Don’t forget, you can’t spray pesticides on your firewood. It may kill pests but you don’t want those fumes in your home.