Wood Storage

I keep the bulk of my wood outside. It gets rained on often but it is up off the ground. You don't want it directly on the ground or termites and other insects will move in. I also put down granular insect killer every few months to keep bugs away from the wood pile. I keep wood inside my garage too on a small wood rack. This is the wood I use for smoking. As I use it up I bring more in from outside to refill the rack. My garage is very hot and dry so the system works for me.

I used to keep my wood outside covered but since moving it into the garage it’s done much better. I’m thinking about building a wood shed lean-to against the garage.

I store firewood in a rack out in the open sunshine and rain until it becomes seasoned after which I cover the very top to keep that wood dry for smoking. Patience is the key seasoning firewood.

Unseasoned wood should be stacked neatly, uncovered, in a sunny outdoor location. Once it's seasoned a dry indoor location is best, where it will last indefinitely. If you don't have indoor space, loosely covered outside is the next best option (think shed roof or piece of roofing tin, not tarp). But if that's not feasible, just leave it neatly stacked in a sunny location. It will rot quicker, but if you use it within two years it should be fine.

IDK fellas, insect exterminators will tell you not to keep wood near your house. And to keep it up off the ground. It will attract carpenter ants and if on the ground, termites.


Carpenter ants and other boring insects, like the cerambycid family and maybe commonly known as Longhorn Beetles, actually help the wood season, though it seems like they eat it all up, looking at all the sawdust they create. But the problem with carpenter ants is they will migrate to your house. And you don't want them in your house.


In the spring, when weather conditions are just right, some of the queens in a carpenter ant colony will fly away to start new colonies. There has to be light wind, right air temp. I had a colony in the eave of my house last year and watched this happen one afternoon.


And I don't bother to cover my wood pile. The very outside may get wet from rain, but its not going to soak the wood. I want the sun hitting the wood.