Woodworm

[Stooby]

I know nothing about this. For excited to see an oak table advertised on free cycle only to read the details and see it has been treated for woodworm. It's it safe to use this kind of wood.
Also how do I spot signs of the woodworm in any wood I have?

 

[Claymore]

We had it in my workshop roof beams and bought some chemical stuff and gave them a good soaking and its supposed to sort it, the obvious signs are the tiny holes that look like your a crap darts player lol and fine dust near them (thats what we found anyway) I suppose you could treat any suspect wooden furniture with the stuff?
Anyone else have more info?

 

[Baldhead]

I know nothing about this. For excited to see an oak table advertised on free cycle only to read the details and see it has been treated for woodworm. It's it safe to use this kind of wood.
Also how do I spot signs of the woodworm in any wood I have?

Try asking in the General Woodworking' section.

Baldhead

 

[Jamesc]

If you have woodworm holes it means that the larvae which do the damage and eat the wood have hatched and flown away. The beatle don't eat they just reproduce, lay eggs and die so if it is old woodwom (no fresh dust or polish has started to fill holes) then they are long gone. If you find fresh holes you can squirt woodworm treament into them to kill off those that have not yet emerged. The main hazard is introducing a pice with hatching woodworm into the house which then go on to infest other areas.
If you are concerned I would keep the table in a areas that does not matter for a while a check to see if anything emerges. You could always wrap it in polythene to trap any beatles if they emerge.

James

 

[NickWelford]

I seem to remember that they only emerge at a certain time of the year. You might have to wait a while. Of course, if it is small enough, you could microwave or freeze it to kill the grub inside.

 

[tobytools]

if you can freeze the wood that should kill the bugs.. or zap them in the microwave, i did the frees method to kill them out of a vintage wooden hand brace... its worked

TT

 

[Claymore]

try leaving some nice cheese or peanut butter near the table and sit and wait! they are cunning little critters and can be quite dangerous if cornered! lol I now have wooden legs (but real feet) thanks to the little monsters in an unprovoked attack 9-)
ps think i got the woodwork killer at Do It All or Wickes and no problems since.
Brian

 

[woodfarmer]

In winter here it is not uncommon to have -18C for a week or more (day and night) so I doubt freezing them will work as it does not affect the local worms/eggs. Micro wave ought to work but that can only take small bits. Painting the wood with woodworm treatment is ok but the locals use lime wash as it fools the beetles into thinking the wood so covered is stone and not wood.

These are woodworm holes

 

[Stooby]

Wow those are some big holes! I think I will look into this more and try and avoid them where I can and have plan in place if I can't.

 

[Claymore]

agree with ya! my woodworm holes were tiny those look like the worms used a chainsaw! lol

 

[fred55]

Yes agree with what's been said - imagine being a worm what you want is softer wood that's damp not hard or dry or soaking or treated, easier to bite into. That's why older roof and floor timbers that are prone to water either from rain or poor DPC suffer most. Symptoms of live woodworm fine sawdust and looks like a poor darts player has been around is good analogy for the size of the wormholes, these can be 1 hole per foot2 or hundreds per foot2. The worms tend to follow the grain - it is easier to eat than cross grain so cut out 1 foot more than you think! end grain is mostly the point of entry, old buildings using the split timbers instead of sawn timbers have effectively less end grain ! again the old methods . Treatment - cut it out and burn it - stop the damp - chemical paint/spray (less effective with large section) or holes filled with chemicals (best with large sections) - as usual prevention better than cure.
The damp & infestation man (almost retired).