Fresh wood chips
 

Had a bunch of people over Saturday and cut down some small trees and trimmed many, many branches. Had a rented chipper going for seven hours!
My question is, can we use the chips as is, or should we let them sit in a pile all winter, or should we treat them with something? I'm just not sure, but there's a lot of chips! Any suggestions? Thanks.

Well that all depends on the type of wood you chipped up and what your using them for... If it was hardwoods (Oak, Maple.... ) then you may get away with it. If it was a soft wood (Pine, or Poplar or Hemlock...) it will just rot away. The problem with untreated woodchips is that they are a breeding ground for bugs and rot FAST. Bugs which may eat your plants. The mulch/wood chips you buy from a store have been treated unless they are Cedar, in which case they probably were not. Cedar is good at resisting rot as well as bugs. If it just a temp weed barrier or something that you don't care about rotting away, then just run with it. I definitely would not put untreated wood chips in a garden though. With any wood, it is better to let it get "seasoned" anyways. Your call, just my 2 cents.... :beerchug:

FWIW:
Be warned!
Many years ago my wife & daughter "fixed the flower beds" on the sunny side of the house.
They got many bags of inexpensive bark chips, they sure looked nice.
After that, the Box Elder bugs moved in! OMG for the last 15 years I have been fighting them in the spring & fall.
I have to spray 2x a day sometimes 3,I mean not just a few bugs,but they cover the siding,windows & flower beds turning them black with there bodies.
I use 3 maybe 4 bottles of Dawn dish soap a season,I don't mind the cost, but it a pain to have to spray them.
I use a 5 gal back pack sprayer mixing up about 3 gal @ a time.
(ratio 2 squirts per gallon)
The only satisfaction I get is to watch them die quickly.
One of these days I'm gonna rip out the beds/chips and plant GRASS.
maybe they will find some other place to procreate!