Many people use a fireplace to supplement their heat supply or just for enjoyment. Insects and other arthropods that are brought into the home on or in firewood may cause alarm but most are of no consequence. Many insects attack dead or dying trees. Their activities ensure that the resources in the wood are broken down and recycled.
Beetles are the most common group found developing in firewood.
These include roundheaded wood borers , flatheaded wood borers, and shothole borers , also called powderpost beetles . The legless, white larval stages of the first two types can be found while splitting logs. Piles of sawdust appear from small holes in logs infested by powderpost beetles. The potential for these insects to infest structural wood in the house is very low. Often these borers attack only certain types of wood, such as hickory or oak.