If you’re someone who enjoys the warmth of a crackling fire during the cold winter months, you’re likely looking for how to store firewood to avoid termites because you know the importance of properly storing firewood.
However, what you may not be aware of is that not only termite infestations can arise from improper firewood storage, but you may also have termite damage to the structure of your house.
Termites are attracted to wood, making your firewood an enticing food source for them.
To help you avoid the headache of dealing with termite problems, we’ve compiled a guide on how to store firewood to avoid termite infestation.
The Dangers of Termite Infestations
Before getting into how to store firewood, it’s important to know about the dangers of having termite infestation. Termites are not only capable of causing significant structural damage to your home, but they can also pose health risks.
They mainly eat wood but can also compromise your home’s foundation, walls, and other wooden parts. Also, termites make frass, which is their poop, that can cause allergies and breathing problems for some people. So, it’s really important to be careful when you store firewood.
How To Store Firewood To Avoid Termites
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1. Keep Firewood Away from Your Home
To lower the chance of termites getting into your home, it’s best to keep your firewood about 15 to 30 feet away from the outside of your house.
When you keep the firewood far from your home, it makes it harder for termites and other pests to get inside.
Bugs and rodents that live in woodpiles can get into your house through small openings if the firewood is stored too close.
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2. Elevate Firewood Off the Ground
Besides keeping your firewood away from your home, it’s also important to raise it off the ground.
If you put firewood right on the ground, it’s easy for pests to get to it. when you lift the firewood up, you make it harder for pests to reach and infest the wood.
This simple step can go a long way to help stop termite infestation.
Read also:Â What You Did Not Know About Termites With Wings
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3. Use a Cover to Protect the Firewood
Covering firewood is not only important to keep the firewood dry so it burns well, but it’s also important to keep it safe from pests. Bugs like termites and carpenter ants are attracted to wet and rotting wood.
To prevent termite infestation, cover your firewood with a strong tarp or a specially designed wood shed. This cover not only keeps the firewood dry but also stops pests from getting to it.
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4. Bring in Only What You Need
To avoid bringing pests into your home, it’s best to bring in only the amount of firewood needed for your current fire.
Although it may be tempting to bring in a large stack of firewood, doing so provides an opportunity for pests to enter your home.
Wood-destroying pests, in particular, can find their way into various wooden structures within your home, causing extensive damage.
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5. Avoid Treating Firewood with Pesticides
If you happen to notice pests on your firewood, do not treat the infestation with pesticides. Applying pesticides to firewood is ineffective and may cause pests to burrow deeper into the wood.
Also, burning treated firewood can release bad chemicals in your home, which can be bad for your health and your family’s health. Instead, focus on ways to stop pests before they get into your firewood by storing it right.
Read also:Â 6 Bugs That Eat Wood (With Pictures)
Additional Information:
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What helps termites eat wood? Termites have special enzymes in their stomachs that help them digest cellulose, which is the main part of wood. These enzymes change cellulose into simpler things that termites can use as food.
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Is termite harmful to humans? Termites themselves are not harmful to humans. However, the damage they cause to wooden structures can be dangerous. Also, having termites can cause breathing problems because of their poop (frass) and the chemicals used to get rid of them.
More on How To Store Firewood To Avoid Termites
This video explains more about how you can store your firewood to prevent termites:
Conclusion
It’s really important to store firewood the right way to stop termites and keep your home safe. If you follow these tips on how to store firewood to avoid termites, you can have a nice, warm fire without worrying about pests.
Just remember to keep the firewood away from your house, raise it up, cover it, only bring in what you need, and don’t use pesticides. Doing these things will help you have a winter without pests while also enjoying having a fireplace.
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