Termites in smoker wood pile

[sudsandswine]

I went out to batten down the hatches on my wood pile ahead of the rain we are supposed to get tomorrow. I noticed that there was a lot of sawdust piles on the logs that looked like they were from termites boring. I thought i noticed some when I got the wood a few weeks ago and figure these probably were in it all along.

I realize it's wood and these things happen, but just wondering if it's something I should be concerned about addressing. The pile is about 80 feet from my house in the corner of my yard. I obviously don't want them to head towards my house. I saw a bunch of ants swarming and hauling off larvae which I assume is the termites so maybe they'll finish them off for me. Or maybe the freezing temps this winter?

Sorry for the newb question, just wondering if there's anything I need to do either regarding its use in my smoker or its proximity to my house. I don't really want to spray something on it when it'll be cooking food I eat.

[SmittyJonz]

They Burn just Fine........

[JacksBBQ]

They Burn just Fine........

Yup. Had some carpenter ants get into a wood pile a few years back. Just throw the wood on as is.

[Texian]

The wood burns just the same. I've never burned wood that didn't have bugs of one sort or another living on it.

My concern would be the house. Down here pest companies like to put pine scraps in subsurface containers around your house, then sell you termite treatments when they detect termites have attacked them! In essence they bait the termites to their test wood for future sells pitches...

Just get the wood pile up, off the ground along with any other limbs and such and youll be fine.

[CeramicChef]

Call an extermination NOW! You've got a MUCH bigger termite problem than you know about. If you see them, I guarantee you have have colonies elsewhere and termites spread quickly. Eighty feet is no safety barrier at all. Get the exterminator out there ASAP! Better safe than sorry.

[plakers]

First you have to determine what you have. Ants or termites, I also get wood boring wasps of some sort. Not the same problem nor the same cure unless you're going the chemical route which I don't advise for the smoker wood. Keep off ground if possible.
The other thing is to make sure your smoking wood gets rotated so the bottom pieces don't become a haven for all kinds of insects and pests.

Yes, I am advising you to use your smoker more often.

I'm certainly no expert on these things. A reputable pest company may be of help for the rest of the property, just know that some pest inspectors work on scare tactics and commissions.

[Rusty Kettle]

Dude kill them all now. They aren't something to be messing with. Burn the wood. I don't care how you do it but burn it all. They got my house before we owned it. Poor fellow before us got foreclosed on. He put New furnace and hot water heater in. He used them maybe 6 months before he gave up. He spent a lot of money on the place. We bought it because we knew about it and we didn't when give the bank half of what he paid for it. We gutted it and rebuilt it. It was a job. We made out in the deal but the guy before us was screwed royally. It is sad as It is a very good neighborhood. Would have been a nice house too.
We got lucky the termites destroyed this place as we saved a ton of money. I hate to have gained so much from someone else's misfortune but we wouldn't have the home we have and the neighborhood we are in if not for termites.
We are very fortunate to be able to rebuild after this sort of damage but most people can not do what We did. I have my dad and he knows a lot from his time selling home improvement supplies and my brother is a contractor That dealt with a lot of rebuilding.

My advice kill them now. Get your place checked out. They are not something to screw around with.

If I can take pictures of the album of pictures that we took while rebuilding I will post some of the worst ones. It is unreal how destructive they can really be.

[mowin]

If your house is dry, there no worry about termites. Termites need wood and moisture.
My wood pile for my heating wood is 60' from my house, 10+ cord. Full of ants depending on the time of yr. Never had a issue in the house. And yes, I've had it checked out by a buddy who worked for a pest control co. He recommend a granular product to spread around the pile to control the ants and other critters.

If your home is damp, leaking roof, Windows, ECT, then you have a recipe for disaster.
There are dry wood termites, but are very uncommon in my area.

[sudsandswine]

Yes, I have the wood off the ground on a rack. Like I said, I'm certain whatever is boring in this wood came with the wood.

Thanks for the input

[Czarbecue]

What about using a pallet on a concrete slab for a foundation? But don't mind me... my wood piling are on steel shelves at the moment.

[Notorious Q.U.E.]

I've had spiders in my pile and that's about it. No change to cooking or wood burn

[EdF]

Call an extermination NOW! You've got a MUCH bigger termite problem than you know about. If you see them, I guarantee you have have colonies elsewhere and termites spread quickly. Eighty feet is no safety barrier at all. Get the exterminator out there ASAP! Better safe than sorry.

I agree. They turned up at the church across the drive from us and started making their way towards our place. Apparently there were colonies in the conservation land out back. After about 4 treatments all around our house the traps went clean.

[Kmm]

Critters in the wood will do no harm to your smoker or the food in it.
Probably should call out an expert to identify exactly what you have working on the pile. Termites are subterranean and can often be identified by the little mud tubes they build when working above ground. Given you are finding sawdust rather than tubes, I suspect your woodpile has an ant infestation. Regardless, the wood in your pile most likely didn't bring the vermin into the yard, they have been in the area all along and are now simply helping themselves to the wonderful new cellulose appetizer you built in their playground.
As others have suggested, you may want to spend some $$ to treat around around the house. Treating the house now will help you avoid far more expensive issues should your new yard guests become bored with their new small bites menu and go searching something bigger to chew on and in.

[sudsandswine]

After some more googling about firewood specifically it doesn't sound like that big of a deal. Without their queen/colony underground they can't survive. The ants I saw were probably toting off the remaining larvae. I'll still give terminex a ring since they do free inspection...maybe they're something else.

https://www.google.com/amp/ask.metafilter.com/256253/Firewood-with-termites/amp

[sudsandswine]

Critters in the wood will do no harm to your smoker or the food in it.
Probably should call out an expert to identify exactly what you have working on the pile. Termites are subterranean and can often be identified by the little mud tubes they build when working above ground. Given you are finding sawdust rather than tubes, I suspect your woodpile has an ant infestation. Regardless, the wood in your pile most likely didn't bring the vermin into the yard, they have been in the area all along and are now simply helping themselves to the wonderful new cellulose appetizer you built in their playground.
As others have suggested, you may want to spend some $$ to treat around around the house. Treating the house now will help you avoid far more expensive issues should your new yard guests become bored with their new small bites menu and go searching something bigger to chew on and in.

Thanks for the info. I definitely did see a bunch of ants in the pile taking larva away, they were very small ones though so I'm not sure they were carpenter ants. Maybe whatever ants they are were responsible for the dust piles, I just kind of assumed it was termites. But you know what they say about assuming.

[Al_T]

I am a licensed applicator and there are millions of termites in every acre of land. The only other insect as previlant is ants. Many pest control companies try to scare people to take their money. There is not a wood fence in my part of the country I can't find termite damage in. Burn the wood and never stack wood next to your house.and fix water leaks around your house and you will be fine.