A stack of firewood is a thriving ecosystem — carpenter ants nesting in damp logs, bark beetles tunneling under bark, spiders hunting in the gaps, centipedes sheltering underneath, and sometimes termites feeding on ground-contact wood. Stacking firewood against your house or inside your garage is equivalent to building a pest bridge from the yard directly into your home.
Distance: Store firewood at least 20 feet from the house and never against an exterior wall. Carpenter ants and termites in a woodpile against the house will eventually find their way into the structure.
Elevation: Stack wood on a rack or pallets at least 6 inches off the ground. Ground contact promotes moisture retention, fungal growth, and provides direct access for subterranean termites. Elevated wood dries faster and deters ground-dwelling pests.
Cover the top, not the sides: A tarp or roof over the stack sheds rain and snow. But don't wrap the entire stack — enclosed wood can't dry, and moisture attracts every wood-loving pest. Air circulation through the sides is essential.
Burn oldest wood first: Rotate your stack — use wood from the oldest end first. Wood that sits for more than a year develops larger pest populations and higher moisture content.
Only bring in what you'll burn that day. Don't stockpile firewood inside the house, garage, or mudroom. Warmth triggers dormant insects to emerge — cluster flies, beetles, spiders, and ants that were dormant in cold wood become active indoors within hours.
Carpenter ants: Nest in damp, decaying wood. Bringing infested logs inside doesn't establish a colony (they need the parent colony), but it introduces workers into your home that may locate moisture-damaged wood in your structure.
Bark beetles and wood-boring beetles: Live under bark and in sapwood. They won't infest your framing lumber (they need bark), but their emergence indoors is alarming and creates unnecessary exterminator calls.
Termites: Subterranean termites can infest firewood in ground contact. They won't survive long in split, stacked, drying wood — but a woodpile against your foundation gives them a pathway to find your home's wood.
Spiders, centipedes, earwigs, crickets: All shelter in firewood gaps. Shake or brush off individual logs before bringing them inside. A quick inspection outside prevents most hitchhikers.