Advise on how to fumigate infested wood
I recently had the good luck (I think) to buy a large truck load of misc. domestic hardwood at about a 90% discount from a high school that was doing away with its woodworking program.(I guess it’s not just the music programs.) Some of the wood is very “wormy” which I don’t mind but I am concerned that the boards might have active beetles.
My questions are: 1). when/what to look for to see it there is activity 2). I will be storing this wood with expensive domestic and exotic hardwoods. Are there woods that the insects don’t damage? Should I store in a certain way. 3). If there are beetles how best to rid, fumigate. 4.) The new wood has been combined with my old beetle free wood for a few months now. Would I need to fumigate all boards even if there are no holes? 5). This last question may be a little silly but if there are live bugs is there a concern for my workbenches, storage racks, etc.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
Michael
Replies
Michael, since you've already commingled this wormy stock with your other inventory, you might as well wait and see what happens. If you have powderpost beetles active in the stock, you'll eventually discover little cones of dust around the pile.
As for the resistance of different woods to attack by beetles, it varies from species to species. If they are powderpost beetles, they love ash, but will invade the sapwood of even some species, like walnut, that have resistant heartwood.
But again, I wouldn't sweat it until you're sure you have a problem. The wormy wood you got from the school might have been kiln dried, which almost certainly would have sterilized it. If you discover you have a problem, there are several ways to sterilize wood (heat being among the best), but you don't want to get into that unless you have to. There are downsides to virtually every method with respect to cost and/or what it does to the wood..not to mention, it can get to be real work.
There's a few species of Lyctus and one or two of Anobium. Bottom line for me is that if I don't have holes inthe heartwood, I merely rip the sap away and forget about it. Most of my Lyctus come from leaving the logs on the ground with the bark on...when the moisture disappears, so do they.
An active infestation in heartwood is another matter. I believe that tenting the boards and spaceheating that space to 130 degrees for a few hours is the best way to get rid of them at a reasonable cost. No guaranteel liquid insecticides will get to the larva.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled