One of the best parts about winter time in the south is all the late night, back yard bon fires. In preparation for these fires, we tend to start collecting a supply of firewood that is usually stored somewhere in or around our homes. What you may not know, is that this firewood can become an attractant to a wide variety of pests for a variety of reasons.
Insects Love to Feed on Wood
No matter what time of year, you can find insects around that love to eat and nest near fallen limbs or stumps, but they also love to make a meal out of nicely stacked piles of firewood. By storing firewood on your property, you’re providing the wood eating insects with an almost endless meal. From wood-boring beetles to termites and even fire ants, insects love to tunnel into wood for meals and for shelter.
Stacked Wood Creates a Rodent Hotel
When winter comes, critters of all sizes go looking for two things: shelter and food. Your home is full of food, and makes a great shelter. Firewood stacked near your home acts as an open invitation to get these critters closer to your home. Since wood stacked up creates a lot of gaps between logs, it acts as a great shelter for tiny rodents to hide from the elements. Storing stacked wood close to your home could eventually lead to these animals moving from their wood hotels into your heated home.
Insects Can Travel in Firewood
Depending on where your firewood came from, it could be acting as a freight train for insects. Certain types of insects make their homes in downed and dried out logs, and can be transported from their original locations to your home simply by hanging out in firewood. Once loose, these bugs can cause havoc depending on their type. Insects like the Emerald Ash Borer or the Goldspotted Oak Borer have been known for killings hundreds of thousands of trees collectively.
Firewood Piles Create Moisture Buildup
As rains come and go, your stacks of firewood accumulate moisture. This effect is compounded should you store your firewood directly on the ground. Whether you’re dealing with insects or rodents, they all come near your home in search of a water source. Your stack of firewood can act as a great water source for a number of thirsty critters.
