# "Don't Move Firewood" -- "Stop Forest Pests" (stupid highway signs) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 16, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659 "2012-08-16T12:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/21 "2012-08-16T15:20:14Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Holy #@@!.. I welcome our new snail overlords. Holy $#&@@! is right, but, no, I do not welcome _that._ That photo did not look 'Shopped to me … - _runs shuddering from the thread_ \* ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/22 "2012-08-16T15:23:54Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I always chuckle at the > “Police enforce DWI Laws” > sign. Perhaps people wonder if the sanitation department or some other agency does that job instead. You know those signs showing the penalties for hitting workers in construction zones? Sometimes I think of them as price tags. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/23 "2012-08-16T15:27:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Ohio’s got: > **DRUG TRAFFICKERS > GO TO PRISON > CALL #677** > [Ohio steps up anti-drug efforts | The Blade](http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2012/02/25/Ohio-steps-up-anti-drug-efforts.html) > > I can just imagine the Drug Traffickers reaching for their cell phones now… Now? They have to go to the prison first. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/24 "2012-08-16T15:38:58Z")
I love the signs in small rural towns in Upstate New York that read “[ZONED PERMITS REQUIRED](http://www.empirestateroads.com/travel/us20/end20pa.jpg)”, as if someone just driving through the town was going to build a house on the spur of the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/25 "2012-08-16T15:47:38Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Now? They have to go to the prison first. They have to call ahead to reserve a cell. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/26 "2012-08-16T15:55:05Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They have to call ahead to reserve a cell. That’s what a cellphone is for, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/27 "2012-08-16T16:34:33Z")
> [@grude](#): > > There is(or was) a giant sign next to a highway flashing: > > WARNING GIANT AFRICAN SNAILS IN AREA > > Unless we’re talking monster movie size giant snails how is this relevent to road safety? Walk! Walk for your lives!! (seriously, those things are creepy as hell) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/28 "2012-08-16T17:07:15Z")
OK the info about the pests at least makes sense now, but at the time I thought how in the world are people supposed to get the wood inside their houses if they’re not allowed to move it? And I still think it’s silly on a road sign. One more distraction for drivers. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/29 "2012-08-16T17:27:21Z")
people are traveling to vacation. they bring firewood because they have it. states have large sign and media efforts to alert people. the cost to the state and business of large amounts of dead forest is huge. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/30 "2012-08-16T18:07:29Z")
My favorite sign, by far, is “END ROAD WORK”. Makes me want to raise a fist in solidarity with the poor road workers. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/31 "2012-08-16T18:19:18Z")
After stripping the road for re-asphalting, they have signs up that say ‘protruding manholes’. I think dirty gross things every time I see one. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/32 "2012-08-16T20:27:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > You know those signs showing the penalties for hitting workers in construction zones? Sometimes I think of them as price tags. PA used to have the speeding fines posted at the state line and they were kind of cheap, so I think it was counter-productive. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/33 "2012-08-17T06:10:14Z")
In my town there is a highway that runs adjacent to a golf course. On the fence between, facing the highway, are signs that read: “WATCH FOR ERRANT GOLF BALLS” How, exactly, am I supposed to do that? What is the suggested course of action, while I’m piloting my two-ton steel and glass box, should I manage to spot a little, hard, white ball coming my way at 150 mph? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/34 "2012-08-17T11:09:50Z")
> [@Shamozzle](#): > > What is the suggested course of action, while I’m piloting my two-ton steel and glass box, should I manage to spot a little, hard, white ball coming my way at 150 mph? Not to mention after spotting it you have to determine the intent of the player, whether it is a mistake, or going exactly where it was supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/35 "2012-08-17T22:08:56Z")
I’m waiting for the one that says ‘Do Not Throw Stones At This Notice’ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/36 "2012-08-17T22:14:47Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Walk! Walk for your lives!! This is why you are awsome! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Ricky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/48db29/32.png) [@Ensign\_Ricky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Ricky)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/37 "2012-08-18T00:52:08Z")
I always liked [this](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/06/27/nl-zombie-warning-gallery-627.html)warning about the zombie apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/38 "2012-08-18T03:31:20Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > ``` > **DON'T > MOVE > FIREWOOD > --------------------------- > STOP > FOREST > PESTS ** > > ``` Are you in MA? I just saw a sign on the Pike yesterday that said the same basic thing - something along the lines of “don’t import pests, buy local wood”. My wood is so local that it grows, gets chopped down, and then gets kiln dried about 5 miles from my house. So, I thought the sign was a bit odd. Who imports their firewood from other states? Campers never crossed my mind. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/39 "2012-08-18T03:36:49Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > So, I thought the sign was a bit odd. Who imports their firewood from other states? Campers never crossed my mind. Absolutely. I work three big camping festivals and several small ones every year, and our security crews are always on the lookout for people bringing wood in. Can’t be done. I like those signs a super lot, because they really cut down on people accusing the festival runners of simply confiscating wood so they can sell more of theirs. We used to get that a lot, before public awareness campaigns made our real motivation known. Y’know…I have no idea what they actually do with the confiscated wood, though. I’m going to have to ask someone about that… ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659/40 "2012-08-18T03:58:31Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I saw this sign once at a Delaware Interstate ramp: > > INFORMATION > POLICE > > and thought about how many other states might have information police, and if they force you to take information, or they take information from you. “Information Police! Please step out of the vehicle.” “Not unless you have a search engine, officer.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-move-firewood-stop-forest-pests-stupid-highway-signs/631659.md?page=3)