There is nothing like a fire to warm your bones in the winter months. While this may be one of the coziest ways to get warm, nothing will ruin it like a pest infestation. There are many pests that look to your firewood stack to make their home. You don’t want to find yourself unknowingly bringing pests into your home on your firewood. A-Tex Pest Management is here to share some tips to help you keep pests off of your firewood this winter.
Tips to Insects & Other Pests Out of Firewood
When it comes to avoiding firewood pests, there are several steps you can take to eliminate them. Following are our best tips to avoid bringing pests into your home the next time you grab a handful of firewood.
– Storing & Stacking Firewood: Storing your firewood properly may be one of the biggest ways that you can avoid firewood pests. You should never store it on the ground. When the wood is in constant contact with the dirt, you can run into more pest problems than you would if you store it a couple of inches off the ground. It is also important that you stack your firewood at least 20 feet away from your home. If the stack is close to your door, you run the risk of pests making their way into your home.
– Store Firewood Outside: It may be tempting to bring in more firewood on colder days so that you don’t find yourself making the trek outside constantly; however, if there are any pests on the wood, you will find yourself with pests crawling around your home before you get the chance to burn it. Only bring in the wood that you will be using in the next few hours to avoid this problem.
– Rotate Wood Pile: It is easy to just grab whatever wood is on top of the stack. If you are constantly adding to the pile, you need to be rotating it as well. You want to use the oldest wood first to keep pest activity down.
– Brush Firewood Before Bringing Inside: Before you bring any wood into your home, it is wise to give it a good brush first. You can see pests sometimes if you give the wood a bit of an inspection. If you find any pests on the surface, make sure they are removed before bringing them inside.
Don’t Spray Firewood with Pesticide
Using pesticide to treat any pests on your firewood may seem harmless. It can actually end up causing problems though. You don’t want the chemicals to burn off the wood and into the air that you are breathing in your home. Avoid treating the firewood with any pesticide.
Pest Inspections, Control & More in Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville, Cedar Park & Austin Texas
If you are struggling with pests in your home this winter, you can rely on A-Tex Pest Management to help you get the problem under control. We work to keep your home pest free. Call us today!