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Show Don't fear noisy woodpile What is that chewing sound in the woodpile? The noises accompanied by mounds of sawdust, concern some pePIe who nave Piiles of gently cut firewood. Robert Morris, USU extension ornamental horticulturist, explained ex-plained that wood boring insects, olten responsible for killing timber, likely are the noisemakers. The noises persist when warm temperatures tem-peratures stimulate the insects' chewing activity. Activity and the noises stop as temperatures drop and the insects enter a period of rest or dormancy. But the "silent" wood becomes "noisy" again when wood is brought from cold, higher elevations to warm, lower elevations or when the wood is brought indoors in winter and the borers become active again. Homeowners may panic at the sound of chewing noises or when the borers emerge from the wood as adult beetles and fly around inside the home. However, Morris assures Jhat most of these pests are harmless har-mless to the home constructed from seasoned lumber. They attack only wood that has not been seasoned by drying. Aerosol sprays can soon take care of the flying adults in the home. To avoid the bother, Morris suggests bringing in only the amount of borer-infested wood to be used in a 48-hour period. It will take about that long after coming in from the cold before the borers become active. Of course, burning the wood in the stove or fireplace will destroy the insects. Logs or lumber that have not been seasoned used around the home presents more cause for concern. Morris says they could become attractive to these pests. Once infested in-fested with these insects, the lumber would be almost impossible to treat by the home owner. |
