Cut and split for 4 hours again today. Some of the ash had ants inside the heartwood. Are they truly dead? Or are they just playin' possum till they get inside my house? It would seem that some of them would have to survive the winter to propagate the species for the following year. Any ant experts out there?
They are playing possum and just waiting to warm up by the fire. I'd stack it in a cold dry place until ready to burn. They will leave when the weather warms up
I toss those to the side and use them for burn pit wood in the Sumer . The ants won't stick around . They like wet wood .
Googled Frank. The body temperature of ants changes in response to the atmospheric temperature. In winter, their body temperature falls so greatly that their movements inevitably grow sluggish. Therefore, they hibernate restlessly in relatively warm places, such as the soil or under the bark of trees. Most species of ants eat a large amount of food in autumn to put on fat, thereby allowing them to go without food through the winter. The entrance to the ant nest nests is closed as a natural result of the slowdown and cessation of ant traffic. Furthermore, soil or sand has accumulated around the entrance. When spring comes and it gets warmer, the ants become active and open up the entrance of their nest to venture outside.
When I run into that ( especially when they come pouring out in the summer ) I have a big can of ant killer I take out to the splitter and spray the splits, kill them and knock them off, if the wood is dry and you want to burn it right away just let the ant killer dry off for a day or two
If I were to throw those pieces in the shed to season, would the ants be gone by next winter? I've been running into a lot of ants, so I would hate to lose all of that wood. I don't plan to bring those pieces in the house this winter, but it would be great if I could use them next season
I'd say if you want to keep that wood for your stove next winter, maybe isolate it (so you know which pieces have the ants) and season it like you would any splits you have. As others have said, they need the moisture to survive, once that is gone you should be ok.
As long as they aren't close to the house. If they find some wet wood near or in the house they will be having a party! I find them sometimes as well. Usually just leave them be because my stacks are now a long way from the house. They will find wet wood in the woods behind the stacks which is much closer. Before, when my stacks were inside the fenced in yard and closer to the house, I would spray them with some raid or something similar.
As mentioned, the ants will vacate the wood once it starts to dry. And yes they are hybernating. You might think you have all the ants off the wood, but more than likely there are more in the tunnels. If you bring it inside, they will make their way out once the wood warms up. If you want to get rid of ants, here is an awesome remedy: Go to your pharmacy and buy a container of powdered boric acid. Boil a little water on your stove and mix in sugar. Let it cool and mix in a little boric acid. Cut a dixie cup so it's about an inch tall and fill with the solution. Place near the ants. The ants will drink the solution and take it back to the nest. It kills the entire colony. For the really small ants, be careful not to use too much boric acid. They will drink it and die on the spot. You really need them to take it back to the nest so the queen consumes it. It's remarkable how well this works. I used to have a huge ant problem in the spring and fall. But now, they simply disappear overnight.
I hate ants. Also this is one good reason to not take wood inside until it is ready to go into the stove. But many do it anyway. Years ago we had some large ash and when I split, it was really full of the big carpenter ants. Knowing that daily there was a flock of turkeys walked out beyond the wife's clothes line, I took some bird seed and spread a thin line up to where the ants were. The turkey cleaned up the bird seed fast and the ants too. Then, of course, I had to break the turkey's habit of checking for more ants every day.
I've been getting bit by something indoors that leaves a welt like a mosquito and itches. Doesn't seem like a small spider but I suspect it came in with some of that 3 year old oak I'm burning. Maybe its hiding in my rocking chair and warning me to keep the fire hot...
Years ago I bought a variety pack of cat toys, balls, and a satchel to put the included catnip into. They all eventually ended up under my couch. Then I began seeing an occasional tiny black beetle in the living room. Next time I moved the couch I noticed they had indeed moved in. A bug bomb took care of them. They didn't bite but indeed did live on the bottom covering of my couch and between the the couch and floor skirts that covered the legs. Those lil buggers came from the the catnip satchel under the couch!
Could be mosquitoes. Several times every winter I get mosquitoes that come in on the firewood and start flying around when the wood gets to room temp. Actually, haven't had any this winter, likely because it has been so cold that the snow has been all powder and brushes right off the splits, so no moisture/no mosquitoes coming in....one benefit of the extreme cold, I guess.
If I split a round and it has ants, I leave it split in the sun on a rock for a day. Kill as many of the ants as I can that come out while I am splitting. The rest leave in the next 24 hours. I never have any in my stacks, but plenty in the unsplit wood.
Any wood I have that is antsy, is left on the side and only brought in to go directly in the fire. I wonder what the btu rating on ants is? I suppose Carpenter ants have more btu's than those small black ants.
When I have found ants while splitting I usually split the infested area out of the wood and discard of it in the woods. Gets rid of the ants and punky wood
