outside infiltration), Every pit (barrel), grill, smoker, brazier etc that I
have ever owned is/was not. I'd love to have a WSM but will have to find one on the curb, as I have NO intent on ever spending 175-240 *HEB'$ on a torpedo smoker.
Yesterday I went out to prep my Char-Griller(horizontal-barrell) for use. It has been covered prob since April, as we have had the Monsoons since then or it has been just too hot for yard-que. Actually I have cooked a couple of briskets since spring on my "McGiver 57 O&E - jury rig Torpedo". It's better for brisket anyhow.
Now back to yesterday, when I pulled the cover off the Char-grill
barrel pit I first had to run (walk fast) when I saw a large wasp nest full of the red ones. they pretty well stayed put til I got the spray killer outa
the house. I prefer burnin' or vacuumin' wasps but the layout wasn't
right for either of those methods. So I doused em and amazingly got
nine with no escapees that I saw. Course I stunk up the inside of my
"McGiver Cover" (used to be a landau pickup bed cover). Luckily as I
flipped the cover clear of the pit I noticed a smaller yellow kamikaze. This
being the much more dangerous yellow jacket pest. I looked and found
the nest under the wooden shelf which couldn't have been more than 6-8
inches from the red wasp nest. There were about 6 jackets there and I
shot em but 2 flew off. Now I had at least 3 flyin' & hidin' "terroists" to mess up my smokin' plans. I retired to the casa for a few hours and a few cold cold Pearls.
After 24 ounces of courage I went back out to size things up. I also put on a thick long-sleeve work shirt top button buttoned and an old wool watch cap. It was prob still 93 outside. I looked like a fool. Anyhow no flyers in sight so I stripped off the costume and threw up the lid of the barrel. Only to be greted with another red wasp colony and approx 45 cock-roaches.I had stored about 10 sticks of pecan in the barrel and most of those prime pieces were spotted with roach droppings.Back into the house I went where my wife had long since put the room-temp brisket back into the fridge. In fact she had already started tacos to replace our smoked sausage supper.
I went out into the garage to get my prikly-pear burner. I didn't want to spray the HotShot into the barrel and on the wood. Only to find that my son had "borrowed" it a few months earlier and he lives 100 miles away. So I went back out and carefully removed most of the pecan wood, closed the darn grill (leaving the wasps to die another day) threw the Landau Pickup box cover over it and told my wife I'd light the McGiver O&E later in the week.
Was this Murphy's law at work or not?
Now here are some questions for yall.
Would you guys use the wood?
Any ideas of how to prevent these "guests"?
Do any of you ever spray your wood piles? I don't, but have considered it.
Do yall think weatherd firewood loses (or gains) anything in quality or does the weathered wood matter at all?
Do any of yall use a pear burner as I do?
Altho we wash and keep the torpedo (round chrome plated) cook grills inside I 'sterilize" and "clean" the others usually with the pear burner. The cast iron grates on the Char-Griller and the large rectangular grids on my gasser and other odd expanded metal grids are too big or unruly for the kitchen sink so I just brush em hard and glow em with the pear-burner.
I had a neighbor who took his Char-Griller cast iron grates in and put them into his self cleaning oven. That he swore made them sterile. As mine cool I either spray em with Pam or brush em with bacon drippin's, but that just attracts the roaches I suppose.
Tomorrow I'll go by Harbor Freight and pick up another pear burner.
I hook it to the nat gas line out on the patio.
* HEB'$ = hard earned bux
~~HeX~~
Ain't they fun. I have a never ending supply all varieties. I think they like being neighbors to the fire ants..
As for cleaning the grates, I use a weed burner or you could take them to a car wash and pressure wash them or if you have a pressure washer do them at home. Mostly I do like Gator and run the heat up and let it burn and clean the rest out. 
I don't see a problem with using the wood. 