I was loading my score from this afternoon. The bark was easily falling off the rounds. I pull the bark off one and...termites! I look at them and say "i'll be back" Not having my sidearm mini gun or any RPG's, i opted for the next best thing...flamethrower. I attached the propane, walked back to the log and said "hasta la vista babies" Flame broiled. None of the other logs had them. Second time this year.
never seen them in my stacks, logs or processing area, just a couple scores this year and maybe twice in my lifetime prior to that.
I often run into Carpenter Ants when splitting. Hence that can of ant spray that is within easy reach when splitting.
Carpenter ants will leave quickly once the wood is dry. So that is what termites look like. Never happened to see any around these parts.
Most termites live in the ground. They only climb into wood to gather food to bring back to the nest. If that log was recently moved (with the termites in it) those workers, without access to their nest & queen, would probably soon die off on their own . If the log was sitting in the same place for a few days that indicates that there is a subterranean nest in the vicinity. Best way to control them is to use a glucose bait laced with poison specifically made for termites. The workers take the bait and bring it back to the nest. It is a slow acting poison that the workers feed to others in the nest. As termites die, others eat their bodies and also die. The process slowly repeats until the nest is dead. KaptJaq
the ones i saw are toast KaptJaq. I had moved the round there back in February and moved it yesterday. The termites were on the small side so newly hatched? Close by logs were unaffecred. Im not an entomologist, just a woodhoardingologist!
I'd rather see ants, I often see them in wood I get. I just sprinkle ant bait (amdro) sven dust doesn't discriminate and kills even good bugs. If I find them in a log I split, I just smack the crap out of it to get most of them to drop off. I figure it's good snacks for birds etc.. speaking of, it's about that time to sprinkle the wood piles and perimeter of the house with it.
I know they will, it's where they go next that worriers me. My house is only 40 feet from my processing area, and when several hundred are in several rounds I don't want them take up a new residence in the house. 35 yrs. back they got in to the walls on the back side of the house. I had to replace 6 floor joists, and 8 wall studs they destroyed. Had to rip out the pine boards exterior walls and floor and replace them. Call me paranoid, or call me cautious, I don't want to do that again.
I don't worry too much about the big black ants. I see them almost every time i split. I'd be a little more concerned about the termites though. They will travel underground for quite a distance.
If I come across an nest/colony/bunch while splitting, i take the splits about 50’ away and lay’m face up and let the birds have at it. I’ll pick them up in a week or later when I get to it. Like Backwoods Savage i don’t think I’ve ever seen termites like that before.
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