Hi,
I have a bunch of rough sawn maple that seems to be infested with some kind of worm, grub or whatever it is. The worm itself is pretty nondescript. It’s very small maybe about 3mm long, round body and whitish in color. They are leaving meandering tracks all through my wood. You don’t see them until you start cutting, and then their trails become quite apparent. Anyone tell me what they are? Can I just try to remove the wood that appears bad, and keep the rest. Or should I just get rid of all the wood?
Replies
Powder Post Beetle. Heat the wood up to 130ยบ will take care of them, and their young, and eggs.
If you are in an area which requires gassing a house to kill termites, you might ask a extermination company if they would let you put some lumber in the garage on the next job. Sometime they will do that. It doesn't cost them anything extra.
Yes it's powder post beetles. Get the material kiln dried ($$). Or if it's been air dried you might be able to do it yourself by getting a portable gas heater (one of those kerosene fired heaters) vented to the outside of course and bake it in your garage. I wouldn't do this with unseasoned lumber however. The rapid heat will wreack your wood.
Another option is to spray down each board with a boric acid solution. This won't kill whats already in there but will prevent reinfestation as the buggers come out, breed and attempt to reinfest your wood. The layer of dried boruic acid forms an insecticidal barrier that kills the bugs before they can tunnel in and do damage.
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