s y pine killed by beetles

[sixteenacrewood]

hi everyone, thanks again for all the help with my past questions.

Has anyone here ever milled a southern yellow pine that was killed or infested by pine beetles or turpentine beetle?
I have 75 pines in my front yard that are dead or dieing from these two beetles plus short leaf disease. They range from 16" to 24" in diameter

Do you think I could get usable framing or siding lumber from them ? maybe structural beams if they didn't dig to deep?

thanks again guys

 

[BuddhaKat]

They should be fine, as long as they haven't been dead for too long. Bark beetles aren't really a boring beetle if I remember correctly, but there's a host of other critters that love to attack dead wood. Best to cut em down before they get a chance to set in.

 

[sixteenacrewood]

Two died this winter , our Forrester said more will die soon, about half, with the rest having several years. I marked 75 I plan to cut down.
I have a choice as to how they are milled, a circle mill I take my logs to at .20 per board foot. or a band mill at $35.00 per hour.
I have a tandem axle trailer and I've taken logs to this mill before(35 miles), he's a good sawyer.
I have not used the band mill guy before but have heard good feedback about him, he has an LT-40 all hydraulic.
Which would you use? any advise?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I'd use the bandmill, you will get a lot more lumber out of the logs with a BSM.

Rob

 

[TSRuff]

They should be fine, as long as they haven't been dead for too long. Bark beetles aren't really a boring beetle if I remember correctly, but there's a host of other critters that love to attack dead wood. Best to cut em down before they get a chance to set in.

Couldn't agree more. On the land that we have in Northern Minnesota the pines are starting to fall by the dozens to bark beetles. We cut one of the first to go (about 30" diameter) and milled it into 4x4 and 4x6 posts and beams. There wasn't a single mark in the wood from the beetles more than 1/2" deep, and that all gets trimmed off anyways, so it's an excellent way to reclaim the wood.

Our local DNR rep only asked that we not transport the wood far before milling (easy, since it was 30" across!) and that we burn the trimmings and/or any leftover pieces, including the branches.