Check your wood stocks, it's May...

[Steve Maskery]

I had a nasty surprise this afternoon as I got to my bench. I saw a critter crawling across my bench. About 6mm long, with wings. I squashed him, I don't care if there is a world shortage of insects, I don't want them in my workshop, than you very much.

But wait, there is another. And another. Loads of them. Squish, squash, sqush.

And then I twigged - woodworm. Now my bench has had woodworm before. When I first bought the timber, some of it was infested. Of course, I didn't know that, or I would not have bought it, I only found out the first spring afterwards. But that must be 20-odd years ago.

I treated it, of course and all was well. Then the bench stood two years in a barn, but it's been here now about five years, with no trouble, so I have no idea how they have got here. But there are new holes in my bench, so there is no doubt as to their origin.

Does anyone know much about them? I've been out and bought some woodworm killer. There was just one crawling about when I got back from the shops, but I still doused the top. The trouble is, IIUIC, the holes are flight holes, i.e. they've been and gone to lay their eggs somewhere else.

This is a timber-framed building...

Worried Steve

PS The only good thing to come out of this is that the same place from which I bought the woodworm juice also had 19 Crimes at a very appealing price

 

[Deadeye]

Ha! (and also, Sob!)
Everything I know about wood-boring insects comes from one anecdote. Which won't help you, but may make you temporarily feel better.

A long time ago...

My wife and I went on honeymoon to Thailand. We naively bought a life-size teak elephant (a baby elephant, but still a five footer); like you do. More naively we paid in full, including shipping, and went on with our explore of Thailand (this was so long ago it was probably Siam).
Back in the UK, with the first blush of young love being met by the dismal grey of a suburban autumn, we realised it was unlikely that the elephant would ever materialise. We consoled ourselves with the fact that, realistically, we had nowhere to put it (aside from an alcove next to the bathroom).
The good news was that it did arrive. the bad news was that we found this out from HMRC, who had it held at a port and wanted duty and for us to remove it sharpish.
The good news was that we had a friend who worked in duty (if it's furniture 20%, if it's art duty free or some such). The bad news was that our "sculpture" needed specialist transport.
The good news was that I was at home (by chance) when the incommunicative transport company arrived. The bad news was that it was nearly 400Kg of wood on a disintegrating pallet with no tail lift and a driver like Fido Dido. the good news was that the pub at the corner was open - so we recruited a load of help. The bad news was that the pallet promptly disintegrated... because it was eaten away... and the flight holes were in the base of the elephant too.
So the elephant got to the front garden of a 2-up 2-down terrace in London, where it was unlikely to be stolen, whilst I considered the next move.
I captured a couple of the beetles and sent them to the nice man at Rentokil. He called a few days later, clearly very excited, clearly in a white coat with Einstein hair. Pillar Dust Beetle. Ok to bring in? Only if we want no floorboards in short order. What shoul we do? Burn it. Given that our 2-2 terrace had almost 4' of front garden this seemed like a way to arson the street, so I asked if there was another option.
Fumigate. So, another van, 2 weeks fumigation, another van and the elephant is now in the hall and I'm 3x the cost of the elephant worse off. But, hey, it was a honeymoon gift.
And the wife wants it in the alcove.
Elephants don't have handles. So I got strong mates, a rope, a step-ladder braced across the loft hatch and we pulled.
The step ladder was the weakest link, followed by the loft hatch. The stair carpet has deep grooves. Climbing ropes are quite well specified (who knew?).
The elephant remains in the living room.
We have explicitly threatened it as a curse inheritance on whichever of our children displeases us most.

Yeah. Bugs. Cause issues.

 

[DTR]

I was of the impression that woodworm didn't like dry wood?

A long time ago....

:lol: :lol: :lol: (sorry though)

 

[Sideways]

How I think it works:
Woodworm eggs are laid in the wood, larvae hatch, live in and eat the wood for 3-5 years, boring along the grain more than across it, then metamorphose into the flying insect and make a hole on the way out.
They prefer to eat sapwood as it has the most nourishment for them, and I'm told they don't like chipboard as it has almost no nutritional value.
Old holes tend to look black.
Holes made in the last year will be quite light in colour and even show signs of fine sawdust etc.
The little b***rs live for a week or so as a flying insect, mate and it all starts over again.
They're attracted to daylight / UV, so in lofts etc, you find concentractions around the edges of the roof / hatches, etc where daylight leaks in and the insects can get in and out.
Woodworm treatment doesn't kill the larvae in the wood, it gets them as they chew through the treated surface on the way out. It's a orax type chemical that, like some ant treatments, primarily works by making them sterile.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Well the worm juice seems to work. I had another look over today and I found one little beggar half in and half out, dead. I just pulled him out by his head, so he never even made it to freedom.

 

[Trevanion]

I had a bit of infestation not too long ago in one of the storage containers (The big blue ones) which happened to contain some of my more prized timbers, still upset about some of them. I soaked absolutely everything with Woodworm killer in a HVLP gun and then used some bug fumers to kill any of the beetles.

 

[Mutley Racers]

Hi, this is an interesting topic. Every summer I get these funny looking critters in my bathroom and have never known what they are. As we open the windows more I thought they came from outside. We have not noticed any dust or holes in the wood as of yet.

Here is a picture:

 

[Deadeye]

Have you taken the side panel off the bath and looked at the mounting frame and floorboards?

 

[Mutley Racers]

Hi. I was under the bath floor the other day and I thought I would just have a look. Couldn't see anything there. We also have them in the ensuite which is concrete floor and shower tray so no wood.

 

[Deadeye]

Useful info here
http://watertight-homes.co.uk/identifying-the-species

 

[Mutley Racers]

Thank you. Very useful

 

[Sean Hellman]

Haa, woodworm, small fry really not worth giving the time of day to.
Try this for size.
Woodwasp, found after I was unpacking my trailer at a show. Garden table I had face down on cardboard and against the floor of the trailer and had nowhere to go. A sad end. That's a £1 coin for size. I made the table either from larch, douglas or western Red cedar, cannot remember now.

 

[Chrispy]

For information I have found woodworm in plywood, chipboard and even Mdf stored in a damp-ish shed.