Will trees that have been killed by insects but are still standing burn without drying time?

Depends on the type of tree and or how long they been dead. Plus if they are still green throw one in among the dried stuff fire last longer.

Any wood will burn obviously. The real key is moisture content. Getting a moisture meter is good thing for anyone who burns firewood.

Been dead awhile looks like. The bark is all gone but the inside looks like this....

if it is ash , yes most of the time

if it is maple or another wood you will likely still need some drying time


a wood moisture meter is your friend if you want to know without waiting for dry time what will and won't burn well

I sue this one https://www.amazon.com/General-Tool...hy=9018876&hvtargid=pla-486293511837

if it is under 16% it burns well
under 20% it can be added to an already hot fire and do ok

above 20% needs more dry time

wood at or under 10-12% lights very easily like one sheet of news paper easy I keep this wood for getting fires started stuff that has sat in the shed for a year gets down to this dryness

bring a split inside let it warm to room temp then split it again and measure along the grain if the fresh split for best accuracy in actual moisture content.

Looks good to me, it's not punky yet is it?

That does look a bit punky in the center

A good tip my neighbor taught me.
He gets 1-2 duraflame logs a year. Takes a stiff heavy knife he has just for this task and chops it up into little chunks. To start a fire he puts about 3 chunks the size of a meatball on top or in the middle of the wood. Lights those and it is good. Easy.

punky as a sponge burns , fast as long as it is dry

Ok, it’s cherry and here is a pic from the top. Please explain “punky” to me.

Punky is just about rotted away.

Up here..."punky" refers to wood that is soft, with white spots in it. You can usually tear it out by hand. That stuff looks ok in that last picture. Wish I had it

that stuff looks good , Punky is when the fibers have broken down and you can just about crumble the wood with your bare hands .

it holds water like a sponge but when dry burns like paper

I get a lot of it in root rot maple

if your selling fire wood or buying it punky is very undesirable but if you get some cutting your own it is low BTU but when very dry lights like paper and can be easy to use starting a fire.

Ok, thanks.

Should be fine.

Not selling it, just trying to help someone in need.

GCP is right I would describe it as wood with no life left in it, The integrity of it is gone.

Most of the firewood I cut is either juniper or pinon. Bugs love pinon and juniper and kill them. They burn great as long as they aren't rotted. If they are rotted they don't even make good kindling.
That wood looks like it will burn just fine.

Cut and split hundreds of ash trees this year and yes most needed time to dry.

If the trees are standing dead be careful when you cut it. Dead branches over head can break off and fall while you sawing away. Ash is especially bad for the top breaking off if the tree has been standing dead for a while. And it does get punky fast.