Or is it just Ants? Billions of them. Down ash tree. Can’t have been on the ground more than a year, because i was in there last year and cleaned up all the deadfall
Common find in wood around here in all species. There was some in my BL yesterday. I just drop the round on pavement/concrete at the score to knock most out. If found while splitting I tap the splits against the hydro. I also have a small propane torch in the PU so I'll toast them on occasion, more so in the warm weather when they move faster. If the wood is kept dry they should abandon it. Any chickens handy? They make quick work of them
I usually chuck them straight into the owb. Idk the exact btu's of those black ants, but it has to be something. One day I was running an excavator and picked up a log that was crawling with them. Thousands, if not millions, of them crawling in the bucket. I shook the bucket for a good 15 seconds and none of them were moving after that.
Yep, seen many times. When out at Lefty's chickens loved them. Got to the point where they would come running when they heard the splitter running. Don't worry about them much here in town.
If bad enough, I’ll grab the bottle torch and roast as many as possible, then leave the piece out in the open for a couple days hoping birds show interest.
This is why most of us prefer to get it done before things warm up if possible. I keep some spray handy for the ones with alot like that. I'll spray it good and toss it aside and split it up next time.
I've told the story here before. I once got some ash that was full of them. We also have lots of turkeys here. So I spread a path to the ants using birdseed. It did not take long for them to clean up on the ants. Chickens would do the same. But after the problem is over, then you have to train the birds to stop coming.
I get them sometimes. I split the round up as normal and toss the splits off to the side. They will self deport in a day or so. They don't seem to have any interest in split pieces of wood in my experience. Dad used to give them a splash of gas back in the day.
Make your splits smaller, tap the splits to dislodge them and heave on the stack. Ants cannot survive without moisture.
Funny you should post this. I have my garden rain barrel on a 5" thick 3'6" diameter ash cookie that sits on BL rounds. Cookie fell off and barrel over last fall. Went to set it up tonight and the ash cookie broke in half. 1000s of ants poured out. Tossed it to the chickens. They went bezerk.
