Worms in the red pine

[250quality]

Finally got to a bunch of red pine logs that were donated a few weeks ago. Seems the worms got there before me though.
No big deal as they went into 2x6 fence boards but will they continue to eat holes now they are piled and stickered?
Any cure or advice for the next time would be great.
Thanks

[Chuck White]

Not really sure, but I would think that spraying the stack with insecticide then covering the stack with a tarp for a couple of days while the insecticide disipates into the lumber would help.

[rbarshaw]

Most bugs thrive in green/wet wood, drying it as soon as possible will get rid of most if not all of the bug problems.

[Chuck White]

rbarshaw is right.

Bugs will usually stop working wood once the bark has been removed!

[250quality]

That and I sawed most of em in half! Guess I just need to find the time to get to the next load a little quicker.
Now that it's a little cooler and all my oak is done I'm looking forward to the softwood.

[WDH]

What rbarshaw said.

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, the only ones still working in the wood are the ones eating their way out. Then they will be gone. Had that experience with pine invaded by buprestid and ambrosia beetles. Once they exited that was the end of them. A dose of borax from the laundry mixed thoroughly in with hot water (a 2kg box per 5 gallon pale) will speed up the process. ;D

[bandmiller2]

Pine logs are a parishable item,and in a perfect world milled soon after cutting.If they have to be stored before milling remove the bark as soon as it loosens and keep them well above the soil.I have milled some year old EWP logs that were peeled and had no loss. Frank C.

[ljmathias]

Better to peel the bark before it loosens and starts to fall off- usually it falls off because it has bugs in it.  I was able to peel a whack of SYP logs after Katrina, stored them wet in my pole barn out of the weather and I'm cutting up the last of them for siding for my daughter's houes- wood is still beautiful and hard in the center with some degrade on some of the logs near the surface.  Of course, they all have blue stain since no matter how hard I worked back then, there were more trees down than I could handle fast...   ;)

Lj

[bandmiller2]

LJ, of course if you waite till the bark falls off it too late but I usally wait a short time untill the pitch starts to turn white,not as messy to peel.Only my opinion but I think most of the band problems with pine are caused by the sticky pitch on the end of freash cut pine.I like to let them age a little till it turns white. Frank C.

[sweetwoodmaple]

I agree with SwampDonkey, The guy I know who does a lot of sawing uses boric acid diluted in water quite a bit for a general wood preservative. 

I spray my board/batten siding with that every few years to help with the bugs/bees and is supposed to delay rotting (bottom of the siding from rain splash).

[SwampDonkey]

Bandmiller the pine has resin canals all through it, but not crystalized in it's sapwood since the cells are still living and movement of the sap is a defense from pathogens and bugs. Now of course the sapwood soon dies when the tree is cut, but it's still fresh, versus the heartwood area. Just sawing it and not setting the pitch by heat treatment will reveal that it comes through your finish, worse if painted. Comes through knots worse because of grain orientation, comes out the end grain. That being said, bark will fall off because of drying and shrinkage. Bugs being there is only incidental when exposed and unprotected. Or infested with them in the case of southern pine bark beetles before they are even cut from the stump.

[WDH]

Bark is a bug magnet.