Firewood Storage Done Right — Landscape and Pest Safety

A neat firewood stack against the side of the house looks practical and rustic. It also gives termites, carpenter ants, mice, and powderpost beetles a six-month invitation to move into the wall behind it. I have seen the inside of more than one Pickerington or Lancaster garage where the firewood pile fed an infestation that cost more in pest control and drywall repair than the wood was worth.

After ten-plus years working on landscapes across Pickaway, Franklin, and Fairfield counties, I have a strong opinion on how firewood should be stored on a residential property in Ohio. Here it is, with the reasoning.

Where should I store firewood on my property in Ohio?

At least 20 to 30 feet from the house, off the ground, covered on top but open on the sides for airflow, in a location where afternoon sun and wind reach the stack. That is the short answer.

On a Canal Winchester property I do landscape maintenance for, the homeowner used to stack his cordwood directly against the foundation under his back deck. Looked great. The third winter, he had carpenter ants in the deck joists and termite mud tubes climbing the foundation wall behind the stack. Total cost to remediate and rebuild the affected deck section: about $4,800. The 25-foot move he should have made the day he installed the woodpile would have prevented all of it.

Per Ohio Department of Agriculture and OSU Extension entomology guidance, the recommended minimum distance for stored firewood is 20 feet from any wooden structure, and 30 feet is better. The reason is that termites, carpenter ants, and other wood-destroying organisms typically forage within a defined radius of their colony, and putting their food source against your house guarantees they will eventually find their way into the structure.

How should I stack the firewood itself?

Three requirements:

• Off the ground. Soil contact wicks moisture into the bottom layer of logs, accelerating rot and creating a perfect termite highway. Stack on pressure-treated 4x4 runners, on a row of concrete blocks, on a purpose-built firewood rack, or on a layer of gravel. Never directly on dirt or grass.
• Off the house. The 20 to 30 foot distance is non-negotiable. If you live in a townhouse or have a small lot, get the stack as far from any structure as you can and accept that some compromise is necessary.
• Stack stable, not tight. The wood needs air circulation to season and to stay dry once seasoned. Loose, criss-crossed stacking on the ends with looser parallel stacking in the middle holds shape and breathes.

A stable stack does not lean, does not bulge in the middle, and does not sit on rotted runners. Build it once a year right after the wood is delivered, not piece by piece as you accumulate scraps.

Should I cover the woodpile?

Yes, but only the top.

Cover the top with a tarp, metal roofing, or a purpose-built firewood shed roof that extends 6 to 12 inches past the stack on all sides. Leave the sides open. Wrapping the entire pile in a tarp traps moisture against the wood, prevents seasoning, and creates a humid pocket where insects thrive. Wood under a fully wrapped tarp can stay wet for years.

On a Circleville property in 2023, the homeowner had wrapped a cord of supposedly “seasoned” oak in a blue plastic tarp for two summers. When we unwrapped it for him to actually use, the lower third of the pile was soft, gray, and full of pillbugs and carpenter ants. He lost about $200 worth of wood.

The right cover is a top-only system that sheds rain and snow but lets air pass through the sides. Inexpensive options:

• A 6 to 8 foot wide tarp folded over the top of the stack, weighted with bricks, sides hanging only down 6 to 12 inches
• A pair of 8-foot 2x4s laid across the top to form a low gable, with metal roofing screwed down across them
• A pre-built firewood shed with an open front

How long does firewood take to season in Ohio?

Hardwoods need six months to two years depending on species. Oak, hickory, and elm need at least 18 to 24 months to season properly. Maple, ash, and cherry season in 9 to 12 months. Softer woods like pine and poplar dry in 6 to 9 months but burn fast and dirty.

Wood is seasoned when moisture content drops below 20 percent, measurable with an inexpensive moisture meter from any hardware store. Unseasoned wood smokes, hisses, deposits creosote in your chimney, and produces about half the heat of dry wood. If you cannot push your fingernail into the end grain easily and the ends show radial cracks, the wood is probably ready.

Stack newly delivered green wood in spring or early summer for use the following winter, not the same winter. The wood you burn this December should have been split and stacked last May.

For homeowners who want to skip the storage question entirely and have us deliver finish-split seasoned wood to a designated stack location, we do that as a side service for landscape clients in our service area. Quoted by the half-cord.

What about termites, carpenter ants, and other pests?

Firewood brings four main pest concerns:

• Termites (subterranean and drywood): Move into the woodpile from the soil if you stack on dirt. Can establish a colony in the pile and bridge to your house from there.
• Carpenter ants: Love damp wood. A wet firewood pile is a carpenter ant nursery. They do not eat the wood, they tunnel through it, and they readily move into adjacent structures.
• Powderpost beetles: Tiny beetles that bore through hardwood, particularly oak and hickory. Active in firewood and can emerge inside a house after the wood is brought in.
• Mice and chipmunks: Use wood piles as winter shelter, then move into the house when the cold gets serious.

Defenses:

• Distance from the house
• Off-ground storage with airflow
• Move wood inside only as needed, never more than a day’s burn at a time
• Inspect each piece visually before bringing it in
• Never store firewood inside the house, basement, or attached garage long-term
• Burn oldest wood first to keep inventory moving

Per Ohio EPA and USDA guidance on emerald ash borer and other invasive pests, you should also never move firewood more than 50 miles from where it was cut. Buying or hauling wood from outside your immediate area is one of the main ways tree-killing pests spread between counties.

How does the woodpile interact with my landscape?

Three landscape considerations:

• Drainage. Pick a location with positive drainage away from the stack. Water pooling under or against the pile rots wood, breeds insects, and creates a mosquito habitat in summer.
• Visual screening. A 4-foot tall stack of split logs is not the most attractive landscape feature. Locate it where it works functionally but is screened by an evergreen hedge, a fence, or a planted berm from the primary view from the house and street.
• Lawn impact. A permanent firewood location kills the grass under it within a season and leaves a dead, compacted patch that is hard to recover. Designate a mulched or graveled pad rather than putting it on lawn.

On a Lancaster property we redesigned last fall, the homeowner had a beautiful back yard with a sloppy firewood pile right in the middle of the lawn. We built a 10 by 16 foot gravel pad behind the garage, screened by three Green Giant arborvitae, and moved the pile there. The lawn recovered in one season. The wood is more accessible because it is closer to the driveway, and the back yard reads cleanly again.

For more on protecting those screening shrubs from snow load during winter, see our shrub protection guide.

How much firewood do I need for a winter?

Depends on usage. A rough breakdown:

• Occasional fireplace use (a fire on weekends and holidays): 1 face cord (1/3 of a full cord) per winter
• Primary heat source for one wood stove: 2 to 4 full cords per winter
• Heating an entire home with wood: 4 to 6 full cords per winter

A full cord is 128 cubic feet, typically stacked 4 feet wide by 4 feet tall by 8 feet long. A face cord is one-third of that, usually 16 inches deep by 4 feet tall by 8 feet long. When you buy “a cord” of firewood from a roadside seller, measure it. Short-stacked cords are a common scam.

Buy from local sellers who cut local wood. Per Ohio Department of Agriculture guidance, asking sellers where the wood was harvested protects against invasive pest spread and usually gets you fresher, better-quality wood.

Quick firewood storage checklist

• Locate stack 20 to 30 feet from any structure
• Build on off-ground runners or a gravel pad, never on bare soil
• Stack stable but loose, with airflow through the pile
• Cover the top only, leave sides open
• Season hardwoods 18 to 24 months before burning
• Bring inside only a day’s burn at a time, never bulk store inside
• Buy local wood, never haul from outside the region
• Screen the stack visually with shrubs or a fence

Want a free quote?

Lawn Harmony Landscaping designs and builds landscape features including firewood storage areas, screening shrub installations, gravel pads, and full-property landscape maintenance across Pickaway, Franklin, Fairfield, Ross, and Fayette counties. Locally owned and operated, licensed and insured, 5.0-star Google rating, owner on every job.

Call (614) 425-9789 or email LawnHarmonyOhio@gmail.com for a free quote.

Service area: Circleville, Columbus, Grove City, Bexley, Upper Arlington, Pickerington, Canal Winchester, Groveport, Lancaster, Baltimore, Chillicothe, Washington Court House, and Jeffersonville.