Replies

1. 
   BobSmalser | Oct 24, 2007 05:19am | #1

   If the tiny holes are only in the sapwood and the wood is seasoned, you have an inactive Ambrosia beetle infestation and no problems. They only attack green sapwood.

   If the tiny holes are in the heartwood, you have Powder post beetles and only kilning the wood to 130 degrees for several hours will kill them reliably. Frass or minute sawdust falling from the holes indicate an active infestation, but just because you don't have frass doesn't mean you don't have the beetles in some stage of their life. A major wood pest I wouldn't risk in my house.

   If we're talking big holes and channels in the heartwood, you have carpenter ants who don't eat wood but only nest in it. Kilning or fuming will usually drive them out.

   
   

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   Edited 10/23/2007 10:22 pm by BobSmalser

1. 
   TheAx | Oct 25, 2007 11:33pm | #3

   Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. Maybe it will make good firewood. Can't locate a kiln we could use.

1. 
   BobSmalser | Oct 26, 2007 03:24am | #4

   Wood's too cheap to roll the dice against the rest of your house.Someone at Woodweb or the Forestry Forum will know where your nearest kiln is. Costs are reasonable.

   Edited 10/25/2007 8:26 pm by BobSmalser

2. 
   saschafer | Oct 24, 2007 05:36am | #2

   Having the wood kiln-dried will kill the insects and eliminate the infestation. If you don't want to kiln dry the wood, you can use something like Tim-Bor, a low-toxicity borate preservative/insecticide/fungicide.

   I recently used Tim-Bor on some spalted wood that I recovered from a standing dead maple that had finally fallen over in a storm. The wood had an active termite infestation (the termites left as soon as I started air-drying it) and was riddled with galleries in various shapes and sizes. The Tim-Bor solution was easy to use; I applied it with a cheap paintbrush. So far so good, although it's only been a couple of months.

   -Steve