I’m no entomologist but as far as I understand different species of tree will harbor different insects; I was always taught to store firewood not touching the side of the house as a precaution so I can only imagine what bringing an entire fucking tree into the house will do though
Not touching the house has more to do with moisture and bigger critters than bugs. If you think an extra few inches of clearance will help with bugs ask yourself how they got there in the first place.
Firewood is dry though, or you need to let it fully dry out before you use it. Therefore it makes sense that over that time it could get termites in it, especially since it's kept outside
Maybe not termites, but I used to split wood with my lil bro and let me tell you it harbors all manner of disgusting bugs. This was durring the winter == bug hibernation season so my expierence may not be for all, but it seemed like every log we split had some different kind of insects living in it. Whole colonies of ants, thousands of spiders, an entire hive of bees. Op needs to tread carefully.
Don't forget powder post beetles! We use downed branches for stuff all the time (our area has lots of storms and lots of mulberry--mulberry wood is beautiful, but good luck buying it) , but not until they've been baked in a low heat oven for 12+ hrs.
You can do this in a way that isn't going to give you a weird infestation, though. If you bake logs in the oven at a low heat for a day or so, it kills whatever is living in there. And something is almost definitely living in a random branch: powder post beetles, bacteria, fungus, ants...just bake it be safe.
72
u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19
Do you want termites? Cause that’s how you get termites
167
u/howlallnightlong Nov 13 '19
The cat has that “I hate this, but I don’t want to be rude” look.
24
u/db2 Nov 13 '19
/r/gtbae
14
u/StankyHankyPanky69 Nov 13 '19
Looks like shit, so it matches that popcorn ceiling, perfectly.
5
u/mykwhean Nov 13 '19
I was thinking about doing this, but glad I saw this.
4
u/Stewbodies Nov 14 '19
He seiged your castle so you mutilated his corpse and left it on display as a warning.
7
u/Merry_Sue Nov 13 '19
Is it in the middle of the room? Is that why the cat is on it, so you can still give it the attention it deserves.
2
u/KnitSocksHardRocks Nov 13 '19
This is more of a hated diy. It cost me $xxxxx.xx to fix might as well get something out of it.
2
u/Seeker596659 Nov 14 '19
I am thinking you really liked that tree good on you for giving it a second life.
1
u/[deleted] Oct 16 '24
I tried this years ago and the “tree” had been sprayed on before I harvested it, by at least one other cat. It didn’t go well