Beware Pests In Your Firewood

Firewood still sees much use. However, you must be careful about introducing pests to your home if you mean to use the fuel. The creatures that can emerge from firewood can't establish a long-term presence in most cases because the conditions tend to be far from ideal. Still, there's no point in running unnecessary risks. After all, you have numerous ways to reduce your chances of bringing these unwanted guests into your home, thus saving you the need to call pest control services.

Store Your Firewood Properly

You might be tempted to put your firewood indoors or next to your home outdoors for maximum convenience. If so, give up on the thought because that's effectively inviting the pests in. Firewood offers plenty of hiding spots for unwanted guests, particularly when it's been piled up. As such, always keep your firewood outdoors at a considerable distance from your home. Moreover, store it off the ground while covering it with a tarp that allows airflow. The first makes it harder for pests to reach the firewood, while the second prevents rain and snow from creating moist conditions that support life.

Manage Your Firewood Well

Some people have been known to spray their firewood with pesticides before burning. This is unwise. There's no guarantee that the pesticides will reach the pests' location in the firewood. Even worse, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences points out that burning pesticides can produce toxic smoke you don't want in your home. Instead, you're better off doing two things to make your firewood inhospitable for pests. First, you want to split it into smaller pieces for faster drying. Second, you don't want anything sitting at the bottom of the pile for more than a year because that gives potential infestations too much time to worsen. Generally, you can prevent this by burning firewood from oldest to newest. However, you can rotate the pieces in your pile if you aren't burning through them fast enough.

Be Careful When Bringing Firewood Indoors

Always wear heavy gloves when bringing firewood indoors. Most pests that can live in it aren't much of a threat to humans. Unfortunately, Today's Homeowner states that black widows sometimes live in firewood, meaning it's better to be safe than sorry. When you bring firewood indoors, consider removing the bark to expose anything beneath it. Besides this, you might find it helpful to shake the piece a few times to see what crawls out during your inspection. Never let firewood sit indoors. If you bring it into your home, you should use it immediately so there's no chance for something to rouse from the warmth before crawling to safety.

Ask For Advice When You Need It

People tend to call pest control services when they have a full-blown pest infestation in progress. However, their expertise makes them excellent sources of advice on how to prevent unwanted guests. Due to this, you can consult pest control services if you're doing something that could introduce pests to your home. Yes, the specialists can remove unwanted guests for you. Even so, prevention is worthwhile because it's less expensive and time-consuming in the long run.

For more information, contact pest control services near you.

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