I recently had the "opportunity" to cut down a mulberry tree and had it sawn into lumber. I now need to dry the lumber without the aid of a kiln. It is just going to be stored in my garage for now.

To get the lumber out of the trailer fast, I simply stacked the lumber. After a few days, I finally got around to begin the stacking and stickering process only to discover two things: first, mold is already growing and second, there are ants on the wood.

So my questions are:
Is there anything else to do to keep the mold from growing besides stickering the lumber to allow for airflow around the wood?

Should I put some bug spray or ant killer to rid the lumber of the ants?

thanks for the help