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Is it true I should avoid storing firewood near my home (due to concern about termites)? Or is it perfectly fine to store firewood in a convenient spot just outside the door?

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Storing your firewood on an elevated rack should alleviate most insect problems. The wood should not be in direct contact with the ground or with a structure. Leave enough of a gap to promote air flow around the stack.

Rotate your firewood from season to season (do not stack new firewood on top of old).

If you live in a termite prone area (the southeast or California), you may want to keep your stack further away from buildings, in case they do get a hold of the wood.

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I know this answer is old, but would it be unwise to store firewood on a metal rack sitting on a wooden deck that's about 15 feet off the ground (the house is brick, if that makes a difference)? Getting out into the backyard itself involves traversing a lot of stairs, so I'd like to keep it on the deck if I can. –  Adam Robinson Nov 5 '11 at 22:57

Where I live termites are only a minor problem. We are more concerned about bushfires. Regardless, most people in the area store their firewood up against the back fence on housing blocks or in a standalone pile at least 100m (30 yards) from any building on larger sites, such as farms. As timber fences are generally treated with creosote nobody's worried about the termites there.

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how is 100m = 30 yards? –  Jay Bazuzi Oct 2 '11 at 3:29

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