I live in desert country where wood decay is not much of an issue. I know of 70+ year old western juniper fence posts that are still in place and rock solid. While decay is not much of a problem, termites can be. I survey staked some areas about 12 years ago, and every stake was eliminated by termites.
When temperatures allow, I've been replacing some lodgepole rails on a fence around my yard, and I've encountered some posts that were near suspended in air by the rails with the bottoms beavered off by termites. I have heard that charring the section of wood that goes into the soil can deter those toothy bugs. It's rumored to be something about a dislike for chewing on near crystalline carbon or burnt wood.
Anyone know if this is fact or fiction. I knocked down about 20 western juniper trees in the forest this morning, and will char the bottoms if it's indeed worthwhile. Anyone know?
