Oak Wilt - A couple of less common questions

[BillyB]

I live in an oak woodland with oak wilt nearby. I’ve had several large red oaks fail over recent years from structural non wilt related reasons. One fell on its own and the other two I had to drop because they threatened my home. I still have the bottom sections of these 3 large trunks yet to buck and split and their stumps to remove and was hoping to do that this season. Now, that oak wilt status has recently changed to high, however, I am having some trepidation.

In case it’s pertinent, the dates that these trunks were severed from their stumps are as follows:

1. October 2019
2. July 2020
3. Early March 2021

Can you tell me whether there would be a risk of attracting wilt carrying beetles to my property if:

• I continue to buck and split and stack these trunks?
• I cut and grind the stumps down below ground level?

With respect to question 1, I don’t know at what point the trunks cease to attract these beetles or how long they stick around after a food source has been depleted. I realize that there would be no immediate danger of infection but I fear attracting these bugs even to a woodpile on my property should they linger and increase my chances of infection in the future. Do you think such concern is warranted?

With respect to question 2, I have read of situations where stumps remain alive long past loss of the above ground portion of the plant. If so, am I increasing my risk of attracting beetles by cutting these further and grinding them up? Each stump could require a couple of hours of messing with before I cover them with dirt. Ought I be concerned about being vulnerable to beetles during this time?

Should there be little risk to either of these activities, I’d like to pursue them now and into this spring. Should risk exist, I’d rather be safe than sorry and postpone these tasks until fall.

Thanks for reading! What would you advise?