Had a life changing event, need some advice / guidance

[jimbotx]

Sorry to hear that. Hope the treatment works.

I’m just down the road from you, and it seems like battling ants is a constant. Unfortunately, around here, you can get a bite almost anywhere (I remember getting bit in the parking lot at the Verizon theatre waiting to go in for a high school graduation). I can also appreciate not being able to make a big move (we take care of my wife’s mom in town).

I’m looking at getting one of those plastic Suncast or Everett sheds for wood storage. They are vented but I think they seal pretty well along the bottom (they have a base). That might be an option worth looking at. Or, you might have to look at keeping smaller stashes of wood (maybe pick up bags from Academy or somewhere as you need them) and keep them in the garage.

 

[highergr0und]

Pour a concrete pad and elevate the pile?

For the ants, I would hire a pro to service the yard. They should be able to ID and kill live colonies and begin treatment to stop or limit new ones

 

[gcs]

Not sure you can move away from the ants anywhere in the south, My daughter lived in N.Carolina for awhile and had them, she has them in Fort Worth now, but they sprayed something for them and doesn't have any now. Not to say they won't be somewhere else you may happen to be.

As for Charcoal smokers, I use a Weber Smoky mountain, 22", the BBQ out of that is as good as any I've had.

 

[jermoQ]

I am sorry about the health probs! If you want to make good Q without wood, you can do that easily. If you want to keep your stickburner, can I recommend getting a wood rack to keep it of the ground and cleaning up regularly to keep the ant possibilities lower. I agree with the other guys, that you should get an exterminator to help. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Dweverett]

Really sorry to hear about his health problem. I'd probably ditch the wood just to have one less thing to worry about and pick up something for charcoal while you see how the treatments are working.

Hope he responds well to the treatment

 

[chingador]

Elevate the pile for sure. Wood on the ground gives them good places to set up nests. Over and out is a good product but not 100% foolproof. Spot check beyond that and be vigilant. I really don't think you need to give up your smoker. It is the places away from home, picnics, field trips etc that are going to be the biggest worry. You can control around your house.

 

[jimstocks53]

Fire ants are not termites. Wood is not itself a target for fire ant colonies. They do form mounds underneath logs laying on the ground - which is their normal habitat. You could safely lift your wood up off the gound and spray the ground underneath if you wanted further assurance. I do not think your son's
safety requires finding a different manner of cooking.

 

[bschoen]

All the fireants I have known live in the ground. I would not think a wood pile would exacerbate the issue, spiders and scorpions yes, ants not so much. I would keep the wood pile off the ground, some bricks and pallets can do that job.

 

[TC Smoke & Que]

Sorry, this is going to be a bit long...

Just recently we discovered my 3 year old is allergic to fireant bites. Not just allergic, but deathly allergic. And in testing at an allergist, even the smallest amount of venom (1 part venom, 100 parts water) caused a reaction in him. Needless to say, it's pretty bad, and obviously a bit scary for me and my wife.

I have a huge ant problem at home, and no matter how much or what type of poisoning happens (even professional) we still get ants within a week. The wife and I plan on moving soon, but we are at least a year out on that, and being Texas, we can't guarantee the next house will be any better.

I've been thinking over certain things that can cause worse issues, including my wood pile. And this is where I need some guidance.

I'm about 90% to the point of selling my offset and all my wood. I love cooking stickburners, and future plans incuded a part time catering company. But my son's health (and life) are so much more important than that. And I want to make sure I do EVERYTHING in my power to keep him safe, and if that means getting rid of my wood to make that happen, I will.

Now, he's starting an immunotherapy treatment that is supposedly 95% effective, but it will be around a year until it's at full effect, and even then it's not 100%.

So, I guess... What would you do? Do you have any advice on how to maybe store the wood so I can keep it and it not be a magnet for ants?

I will keep making Que regardless, and will swap to a charcoal cooker if needed. But I've never used charcoal smokers and would have no idea where to start... So any advice on that would be great as well. As well as any info on the difference in how the meat turns out in a charcoal cooker vs a stickburner.

Anyway, as I said, just looking for some insight from y'all. It's been a rough couple of months dealing with all this as it unfolds. My mind is just scrambled and I want to keep my son safe.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Down here in South Florida we have also had our battles with fire ants; and, my youngest son was extremely allergic to their bites (me too, but not too bad). After spending alot on exterminators and bug sprays also.
Finally found Ortho Orthene Fire Ant Killer, and it worked (was alot cheaper too!)the best.You can find it online or at Home Depot or maybe Walmart.
Its a powder that you put on the mound, or areas where they will bed **under wood piles, large rocks, etc.***
It both kills them and repels them from the area, just cover the mound and they leave!
I think you can use this and just keep working it for a awhile.
I only recommend what I have used and know works, hope this helps.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Sounds like you have thought this out very well Neighbor. Of course whatever you think best to take care of you Family first and foremost. We have them in Louisiana everybit as much as anywhere in Texas. They are just a fact of the South ever since they were first brought up from South America in cargo by accident.


We have professional pest control here that guarantee to free your entire property of ants and it works. Terminex is the one we use. It just plain works. They treat our property 4 times a year. About $420 annually with free visits if any pest is seen inbetween.


Just another option you may want to consider until Son's treatment is complete.


Best of luck to you and Family.

 

[Swine Spectator]

You can buy kiln-dried wood at Academy.

 

[RY]

I have a lot of wood. I use for woodburner stoves and bbq. My wood is stacked on a concrete porch outside a shed. I have a problem also with fire ants. But I have never seen any even close to the wood storage area. I am going to take some of the others advice and look up the Bifen XTS and try that also.

 

[BeardedBassGuy]

Just a bit of an update:

I found some of the Bifenthrin here locally at Tractor Supply. It was a different mixture percentage than the XTS but I was able to get it now and put it out tonight. (I'll be ordering the XTS for later) I went full scorched Earth and used half the bottle instead of the 6 ounces recommended. I'm going to do the same thing again after next weekend when We have rain in the forecast. I'm hoping this works.

And just to clarify my first post and answer some of the questions that people posed...

Obviously moving to a state that doesn't have fire ants would be the perfect solution. However, there are a myriad of reasons why that's not possible at this time. I wish it was an option, but it's just not. And it kills me that it isn't. So that's why I'm doing EVERYTHING I can, no matter how small, to make sure my son is as safe as possible in our current situation.

Before tonight (applying the Bifenthrin) I had tried about 10 different poisons in multiple styles. Powder, spray, water hose spray, direct application granules, broadcast granules. And had applied each multiple times.

And during that, we had a professional exterminator came out specifically for fire ants and spiders. We have a major issue with spiders as well.

NOTHING has worked so far.

We hope to move to another town here in DFW within a year and are hoping that the house we buy will be less of an issue.

Now for my firewood... I have abouut 3/4 of a cord at the moment, so a sealed container is not really an option. I can't afford to buy a new bag of kiln dried wood every 2 cooks or so because it's not cost effective. So I keep a stack. And I keep it on pallets raised a few inches off the ground already.

I worked in lawn care and landscaping for 20 years with my dad's company. And we did firewood in the fall and winter. I'm very familiar with ants and firewood. I know that ants don't always seek out stacks, but it does happen.

And I'm looking at EVERY SINGLE OPTION, no matter how small, to prevent ants around the house. That includes the wood stack that may or may not be a place for ants to make a mound.

So that's my current situation.

I've been discussing things with my wife, and as it stands I'll probably be cleaning up my smoker next week, taking pics, and putting it up for sale. It could change though.

But if you are in / close to DFW and are looking for a reverse flow to last you a lifetime and want some wood to go with it, let me know.

 

[cfrazier77]

Do you have a friend that you can write your wood at his place? Just get what you need for a smoke. I should let someone store his wood on my property if his son was in that condition.

 

[BobBrisket]

Sorry to hear about your son. My son had issues with allergies too. Not with ant bites or stings, but all the other stuff was bad enough. Daughter still has bad reactions to mosquito stings.

Now, in the bit of research I did as this topic interested me, fire ants are omnivores. What does your landscape look like? Trees, grass, etc? That would be an area to address. As for the woodpile, they could be feasting on the insects that are hanging out in there. How close is it to your home? Are the ants making mounds on your property or wandering in from elsewhere? Do you have other homes next to you or open land? Assess those areas and you will probably eliminate the problem along with aggressive spraying.

As for your smoker, are the ants crawling into it and eating the grease and leftover particles? If not, then the smoker is a non factor in my book. I'd keep it, and maybe lose or elevate the woodpile or reduce it. But I don't see why you would get rid of the smoker. A charcoal unit will have grease and left over food bits too. Not only that, but if you have a Shirley on order, you will still have the same issue.

I'd address the other issues. Even if you used a gas smoker, it will still leave behind grease and food bits. Even a gas grill would do the same.

One thing about Texas, ants of all kinds and everywhere. Carpenter, fire, pharaoh, small black and pavement ants etc. We use whatever is necessary. Liquid and granules and the borax type gel that pharaoh ants like. Or if I'm in a sinister mood, a bit of gas, lighter fluid(it has its uses), or WD40 down the mound entrance and a match.

Funny thing is, fire ants seems to be good at eliminating other bad bugs like scorps, spiders, their egg sacks, and even take care of dead animals too. But, they also attack newborn birds, even sting livestock at least from the website I looked at. Who knows how much was fact. Sounded about right.

I'd say spray the heck out of your yard and go from there. If you decide to sell your pit, you can always start a thread in our For Sale and Trade forum and hopefully someone gets a good deal.

But, I think you can fix the ant issue and keep cooking too. Even if it's with some modifications to the process.

Bob

 

[OklaDustDevil]

I tend to buy just enough wood for the cook, at BBQ Galore or another bbq store. Obviously it’s more expensive than buying it by the cord, but you’ll get to keep smokin with wood and won’t have any wood pike between cooks.

 

[Czarbecue]

We can all still appreciate this:

https://youtu.be/0qF5_P2e_T0

 

[Smoking Cajun]

Put the stickburner in storage or at a friends house until you get things sorted out. You could also get a cheaper pellet grill as a solution until your son gets better.

 

[Kack]

I use Talstar P and diatomaceous Earth around the house. My yard is a dead zone. Talstar poisons them, the De dries up their bodies and they die. Hate them.

 

[Kevin89]

When I lived in Texas, I got bit a couple times mowing the lawn. That sparked a trip to home depot and picked up some Ortho Orthene powder and the broadcast granules. I had good results killing and driving them off with that.