Termites!!

[ZeroJunk]

I'll throw this in for whatever.

Termites themselves cannot digest cellulose. They have a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria in their intestine which actually breaks the cellulose down in to something they can use. The way the termite poisons used to work and may still is that they killed the bacteria and the termite starved to death.

 

[habanero]

What you dont understand is that termite are social feeders. Having your wood on the ground will not draw them away from your house. What it will do is allow them to thrive and build a larger colony. They "wander" searching for food, its in their nature. Stacking wood on the ground is like tossing chum into shark infested water.

What you say is true, but if you have damp, semi-rotting wood near ground level in your house, chances are termites are going to get started in it no matter if you have firewood around or not. In all the years Dad stacked wood on the ground, plus the years I've been stacking wood on the ground, I"ve yet to see termites in a piece of firewood (of course that doesn't mean they weren't there, but I haven't seen any). I've seen plenty of carpenter ants in wood stacked 5 feet off the ground, though...

 

[Geez]

Carpenter ants will do more damage in a shorter amount of time that termites to your wood framed houses. Just because as mentioned earlier it is dry and the termites prefer the moisture. Though they have been known to venture to the dry side when there is a lack of moist food for them. I would rather them attack my woodpile and get thrown in the fire when they hibernate in the wood than attack my house that is not getting thrown in the fire.

However, carpenter ants will only live in damp wood also. You will not see them becoming established in dry wood. Sometimes it seems that way because you find their tunnels in wood that has since dried out, but they are long gone by then.

 

[badtry]

ive heard something about an orange balloon scaring wood peckers away? Supposed to look like fire? I havent tried it on my hole infested cedar house yet though.

 

[coppermouse]

If you have firewood, sooner or later there will be bugs. I try to store it away from the house as far as possible.
Found mouse nests in the pile this week.

 

[johnha]

Just for the record, if I remember correctly, carpenter ants will attack dry, sound wood. So at the end of the day, they are probably more of a worry than termites.

Pardon me, you may remember but it is not correctly. No disrespect intended.

Unlike Termites, Carpenter Ants cannot digest the cellulose in wood and therfore do not destroy the wood in the same way as Termites. Carpenter ants nest in wood, termites eat it. Ants *can* attack sound wood, but that's only to get somewhere. Termites will attack rotted and sound wood, but the preference depends on the type of termite.

Typically, carpenter ants nest outside your house and forage inside. If they're nesting in your house you have rotted wood somewhere. The ants are eating stuff in your house, stuff that ants are always after, which happens to be the stuff we like too.

I have read, but cannot validate, that ants and termites cannot coexist, the ants will eat the termites.

So at the end of the day, I'd rather have the carpenter ants.