# Firewood storage



## Matt (Apr 16, 2002)

Is it a good idea to store firewood inside? I just bought a house in the country and would like to store my firewood in the corn crib. Is there anything I could spray to keep insects from destroying the crib?


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## Newfie (Apr 16, 2002)

My opinion would be no! I only store wood in the basement during the winter and only a couple days worth.(burn 8 cords a year) I wouldn't be worried about the corn crib but the rest of your house. As for spraying I'm not an expert but in my limited experience, anything that kills bugs, kills you, and would not be something I would have near my wood or in a fire(umm, that smells nice??) As always my humble opinion and I will defer to any of the more experienced here who may have knowledge of some safe stuff out there.


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## treeclimber165 (Apr 17, 2002)

I've had a fireplace in the past, don't have one now (Yes, they DO have fireplaces in FL!). I tried keeping firewood in the small holder near the fireplace and found it wasn't a good idea. Almost all seasoned wood will have critters of some sort under the bark or in the wood. As Newfie said, I ended up only bringing in enough for a day or two when I was going to have a fire. 
Pesticides on firewood is not a good idea, either. The smell of burning poison isn't quite the same as burning clean wood.

Rain won't necessarily mess up firewood, surface moisture dries off quickly when you start your fire. I have always recommended keeping firewood outside,uncovered, usually at least 3-5 feet away from the house. Not stacked against it. Don't cover it with plastic or a tarp, that will contain moisture and not let the sun and air dry out the wood. Under a lean-to or in a shed is the best, as long as there is plenty of airflow to let it dry out.


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## UrbanEarth (Apr 17, 2002)

One thing that I would recomend as well is to make sure that the wood is not on the ground. Raising it up on pallets or 2X4's helps keep some critters down (in my experience) and keeps the airflow going better.

Alan


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## Matt (Apr 17, 2002)

I should have been more specific about the corn crib. It is a building with a raised concrete floor and wood slats for the sides. It was used to air dry whole ear corn. 
I was asking was if there is something I can spray on the walls to keep out wood boring insects.


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## Newfie (Apr 17, 2002)

Hey Matt,

I wondered about the location of the corn crib after I left my earlier post. I now assume it is not attached to the house, which assuages my earlier alarm about all that wood in or near an attached structure. I guess the big question now is what has kept the wood boring insects from eating the corn crib so far? If there hasn't been a problem with the structure so far I would imagine that the wood borers would be in the firewood? They are probably going to be interested in staying in the firewood. Final point, if you do have wood borers in your firewood, ditch it, you are asking for problems. When I'm processing firewood for myself or others and I come across signs of active carpenter ants or termites it is time for a big old bonfire that night and a clean out of the processing area. You don't want the wood that bad. If the wood is clean and the crib is clean then I guess you could have a pest service do a borate ground injection around the perimeter of the crib but that may be preventitive overkill. In any event, I would follow the recommendation to keep the wood stacked off the floor to allow good ventilation. Wet wood on concrete will probably grow some wild and nasty molds. Not the gospel, just my take on the situation. Good Luck!


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## John Paul Sanborn (Apr 18, 2002)

Having the wood in the cribb may help Most farms around here have a wood shed, they werent built just to give kids a woopin in. (ie "take you out to the wood shed.)

The fastest way to dry split wood is to stack it like a log cabin, alternating directions so airflow is even.


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## John Paul McMillin (May 1, 2002)

I heat my house exclusively with firewood. I wish i had a corn crib to keep it in . I dont think youll have a problem with insects. Use up what you stack in the fall and winter when the insects are dormant and youll only have to worry about mice finding homes in your wood.JPM


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