Woodworm etc in firewood

[Alycidon]

As a newcomer to the firewood industry how do you handle the issue of woodworm or other infestations of wood borers in firewood. Seen a few holes in soft thinnings I am currently processing including some 4 or 5 mm in dia.

 

Thanks for your thoughts and guidance

 

A

[Chris Gagen]

i wouldn't give it a second thought tbh, i guess i'd try not to have too much in one load but it's just one of those things. cest la vie

[antipesto]

I personally wouldn't worry about it but your firewood customers may well do. They may be thinking their house will be eaten away but it's often just the holes left by the larval stage of the beetles which have long gone. As said mix a small ammount in each load. Ash seems to attract woodworm in the bark when left to season for a while, I had about 10 tons of it a couple of years ago and burnt the lot on an open fire with no coal used at all. Brilliant stuff and the house is still standing

[spudulike]

I would charge extra for them or tell the customer they come at no extra charge:thumbup:

 

Sorry - couldn't resist - some of my home firewood has worm holes in it but just bring enough in to the house for two nights burn - it is ineviatable some firewood will have worm in it!

[sandbach-sticks]

Ask them if it is to make furniture out of if not then don't worry! Woodworm is only going to spread May-July, so even if they have it in their logs over winter it is unlikely to spread provided the wood is burnt before May, that is my understanding of their life cycle.

[Alycidon]

Ask them if it is to make furniture out of if not then don't worry! Woodworm is only going to spread May-July, so even if they have it in their logs over winter it is unlikely to spread provided the wood is burnt before May, that is my understanding of their life cycle.

 

I had some kiln dried beech offcuts from a furnature factory a few years ago. They bought whole untrimmed but dried planks so had quite a bit of waste. One year I noticed rapidly increasing number of woodworn holes in a picture frame about a meter above the wood basket. When I checked the basket it was riddled with woodworm. Had to replace the frame and basket but it was so long ago that I cant remember what time of year it was hence my concearn and need for advice. Hole numbers in the frame were increaseing at one per hour so it was bad.

 

These days I use steel wood buckets and one ex MOD steel coal bucket.

 

If someone can expand or confirm the above post on the life cycle of these insects it would be handy.

 

Thanks

 

A

[Rob D]

What you have to realise about wood worm is that the holes are caused by the adult beetle leaving the wood not the woodworm going in (you hardly notice where they go in).

 

When they're ready to mate they turn from worms into beetles and chew their way out. You may see adult beetles going in and out of old woodworm holes but these ones will be laying eggs.

 

I looked into it in some detail on the net. There's a couple of pics here alaskan mill I home of the portable chainsaw mill

 

 

Woodworm is in the wood in worm form for I think (depends on type) 3 to 5 years before they turn into beetles and tunnel out.

 

A good rule of thumb is if the conditions are right for wood worm you will have wood worm. Bringing contaminated wood into a house will not do anything if there's no conditions for it to spread.