Are YOU Recycling Efficiently?

Posted on: 22 August 2014

If you've decided to join the many homeowners who are burning wood in stoves and fireplaces in order to keep utility costs down, you may be wondering if the presence of firewood on your property will attract termites. The short answer is yes—termites may be drawn to your firewood stack! However, there are plenty of things that you can do to keep termites from accessing your home when you carry in an armload of firewood. Here's how:

Purchase Seasoned Wood

Termites like moisture, and green wood has significantly more of it than wood that has been properly seasoned.

• Buying seasoned firewood, from businesses like (Austral Tree's) Wood For Good, will also provide you with wood that is ready to be burned rather than wood that has to be seasoned for six months to a year, meaning that termites will have less time to discover it.
• Having your firewood delivered in kilograms instead of tonnes can also lessen the amount of time that wood is stored on your property.
• As an added bonus, seasoned wood burns cleaner and is therefore better for the environment.

Store Your Woodpile Off the Ground

Since termites live in the ground, never store your firewood in such a way that the bottom pieces are directly on the ground. Concrete slabs are the best places to store wood, but if you don't have one, simply make a small platform out of one or two pallets. Placing a plastic tarp over the surface of the pallets will prevent termites from accessing the wood. Firewood storage racks are also available that will keep your wood elevated.

Store Your Woodpile Away From Your House

Your woodpile should be at least five feet away from your house or any other wooden buildings. If you hate the thought of getting up on a cold morning and having to go outside to get the wood for your fire, store enough to get you started in a metal firewood box next to your stove or fireplace. Some people like to keep a bit of firewood stored on their porch for easy access, but this is a good way to hold out the red carpet for a termite infestation unless the wood is placed in a proper firebox.

There is little risk of bringing termites into your home if you take the preceding precautions, so enjoy those warm winter fires without worrying that you'll end up with a house full of unwelcome visitors!