My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I just discovered that my hickory chunks stored in their bag are lighter than usual and found a fine powder on my hands and in the bag. The holes in some of the chunks are teensy--about the size of a gnat's navel. Well, maybe a bit bigger than that but not much.
I store the bags of chunks and chips next to my box of Fruitawood chunks in the garage.
The hickory chunks are the only wood affected, from what I can tell.
Should I toss them, quarantine them, continue to use them, or what?
I would use them. I'd also keep them in a container that won't allow insect migration. Any idea of what they are? Termites could present a larger problem than just to your smoking wood.
Not sure the type. But the sawdust is very powdery, not fine sawdust like termites leave, as I recall. I haven't seen termite infestation since I was a kid so I'm relying on faulty memory circuits. We have Terminix to our house every calendar quarter, so if they spotted termite activity, they would have told us.
My neighbor got his house tented for powder beetles. Cost him $10000.
A few weeks later I bought two wood and wicker chairs from Pier One for the outdoor area. They had the
same dust coming out of them that he had from his infestation. I did not have mine tested and fought to get
them replaced which they did.
The second set of chairs had the same issue.
I read for treatment for powder beetles and it was recommended high heat or cold. I found a wholesale frozen food
company here that let me put the chairs in their 0 degree freezer over the weekend and no more saw dust came out.
I would recommend burning the offending wood as soon as possible as they are very prone to spreading.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
No, it will not spread the insects. In the forestry world, the recommendation is to keep wood local, especially firewood. For example, a best practice is not buying firewood across county lines. That is the best way for critters to spread. Additionally, southern pines beetle for example, one of the most effective controls is prescribed burning.
Burning them is your best treatment for the little buggers. They will not harm your cook. You might want to cold treat them if you use your chunks slowly. Otherwise, you will slowly end up with a bag/bucket of dust.
It sounds like Powder Post Beetles are your culprits. I would get a 5 gal plastic bucket with a lid and keep the wood in there until used up. The beetles are so small they will have no effect on your cooks.
As a side note, I have been told that when the fire in your fireplace crackles, it's actually bugs or beetles exploding as they expand in the hot fire. How's that for romantic...
Some excellent points here, agreed a Rubbermaid style tote to store your wood chunks and then incinerate the little creeps.
We have the same problem in my area with an imported Asian Elm beetle, the reason I only use packaged wood chips.
You mean the Asian Long-Horned Beetle? Elm beetles wouldn't be much of a problem since nearly all elm trees in Ontario were killed years ago due to Dutch Elm Disease. :-(
Your right....well, at least I got Asian and beetle right....
I still hope the is a stand of Elm somewhere in the province that got missed by that blight.
Last edited by smokin fool; August 20, 2019, 07:45 PM.
Powder post beetles are a problem in green wood, but if the wood is dried and then kept dry, they don't survive. That's why kiln dried wood doesn't usually have beetles, but green wood allowed to dry naturally can have this problem.
My house was originally a timber framed barn built in 1916. It took several years of living in the house for the beetles to die out in the timber frame, but they eventually did as the wood in the barn structure dried out.
Burning the wood will definitely destroy the beetles, larvae, and eggs. For the wood you don't (yet) want to burn, you could bake the wood in your gasser. If we're talking chips or smaller chunks, a couple of hours at 250-300 F would work well to dry the wood and heat it through its core to kill the beetles. Let cool and store in a closed container to prevent reinfestation if the wood isn't sufficiently dry.
Last edited by IowaGirl; August 20, 2019, 08:25 AM.
I think anytime we are burning hickory wood, we're burning several bugs along with it. I have a stack of hickory I use in my stick burner, and I get the little piles of sawdust. The bugs love the hickory wood as much as we do! For chunks, it should be easy to just contain them in a plastic bucket with a lid. If you're still concerned, maybe there is a way to "kiln dry" them by heating them up before storing them in the plastic container.
Ok, nevermind. IowaGirl had the same idea and said it much better.
I had the same concerns a few years ago with a trailer load of mesquite. We loaded it late one evening, by the next morning there was dust everywhere. I decided I didn't want anything near my home that would eat wood. I was already writing a check every year to keep termites at bay. I didn't even unload it. I gave it to a friend with a large stick burner. He was glad to get it even with bugs.
I had a cord of wood ruined by some sort of insects, not sure what they were. Incredible amounts of powder all over the wood and on the ground, and the holes looked like a drill bit was used. For the next cord of wood I put in the rack, I sprayed Taurus SC around the base of the rack (none on the wood) and dusted with food-grade diatomaceous earth. None of this sits in my garage, and there are plenty of live trees around to continue drawing bugs into the area. So far, they've been kept well in check, and neither product costs much. Very easy to apply.
Pool filter DE (heated to essentially become like bits of glass) is not the same as food-grade, and is not safe to breathe. Food-grade, however, can be used as a food supplement, and is safe for humans and pets and doesn't even hurt our skin. However, for insects it's a nightmare. It breaks down their exoskeleton like a bunch of razor blades. Nice non-toxic bug killer that you can use indoors or around little animals and kids, a vegetable garden, or a wood pile.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Thank you all for your suggestions. Here's what I did:
First I called Terminix. They said just toss the bag in the trash. I said, "Well, wouldn't that possibly spread an infestation to somewhere else?" They said that no one would know; that everybody dumps stuff; etc. etc. etc. True we live in a heavily forested area so there are probably more wood boring bugs out there than in that little bag.
What I ended up doing: I sprayed insect repellent into the bag of hickory (there was only about 1/2 bag left) sealed tightly, and put inside a garbage bag for disposal pickup on Thursday.
Then I went through my other wood chunks, examined each piece carefully, and bagged each wood type in separate 2-gallon storage bags. I only found two pieces of pecan that had the little holes which I sprayed and discarded.
I threw out all my wood chips since I never use them. Gosh I had a lot of bags of those. Didn't even look for fine powdered sawdust. Just sprayed the heck out of them with the insect repellent, sealed them tightly in their own bags and tossed them in the garbage bag.
My next move is to take the bagged chunks that I kept and put each bag into the freezer for a few days.
I just couldn't bake them on my gasser (great idea, IowaGirl , especially for those less squeamish than me, which should be just about everyone ) or burn them in my WSCGC, PBC, or Weber 22" kettle. The notion of bug bodies popping open in the fire or sweating bugs creeping out into my gasser was too much for my (albeit overactive) imagination.
I figured bagging and freezing would be a good preventative measure, since none of the dried wood that I kept showed any evidence of buggy habitation. Thanks for that suggestion, johnsteen . It's the one least likely to give me the creeps.
Here's what you should have done. Put them in a plastic bag, seal up well. Pack into a box, put my address on the box and post. I'd have sent a cheque for postage and killed the bugs for you in my KBQ. ;-)
But what if the post office asked me if there was anything hazardous in the package, ComfortablyNumb ? Those critters were hazardous to my house for sure!
I really don't want anything that chews on wood in my zip code, much less my garage.
My mother used to make wreaths and candle holders out of pine cones and nuts. They all took a trip thru the oven after gathering to kill the bugs.
My issue in Indiana is with Emerald Ash Borer and ants. Now I'll need to check for these beetles. Most of that wood is headed for the wood stove so I'm not concerned unless they start eating my house.
Weber Summit Kamado with SnS and Vortex.. Broil King Baron, Primo Oval Junior. Primo XL. Love grilling steaks, ribs, and chicken. Need to master smoked salmon. Absolutely love anything to do with baking bread. Favorite cool weather beer: Sam Adams Octoberfest Favorite warm weather beer: Yuengling Traditional Lager. All-time favorite drink: Single Malt Scotch
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