Author Topic: Wood borers in dried lumber (Read 1907 times)

vet · « **on:** February 20, 2006, 02:32:00 pm »

Maybe this is in the wrong forum but I hope you guys can help. I built a shop inside a metal shed and built the shop with I-beam construction so I could stack my rough lumber on top of the shop, to dry. I got some Red Oak out this weekend to start a computer desk for my wife. The wood looked OK prior to planing but after removing the first layer it is riddled with saw dust trails. I did find a wood borer cut in half by the planer. I must have put some contaminated wood up there at some point or another. What is my best course of action at this point? Can I get the wood sprayed similar to a termite problem? My big concern is would these borers move into the wood that the shop is made of? If so my shop is at risk and I don't like thinking about the ceiling caving in on me, especially while I am in it. Hope someone knows about wood borers.
Dave

dundee · « **Reply #1 on:** February 20, 2006, 03:15:48 pm »

G'day Vet----Not knowing the environment the lumber is stacked, my humble guess is that
1. How dry was the lumber when you stacked the material?
2. You say that you noted a borer cut in half?---was it "fresh", or withered?, if it was fresh, then I guess the work piece had some moisture within

If was me, I would haul out what you have in stock and check it out for infestation

Rgds

Richard
New Zealand

vet · « **Reply #2 on:** February 20, 2006, 03:33:21 pm »

Dundee,
The borer was fresh and still alive. Does that mean the wood has enough moisture to support life for the borer? The wood has only been air dried. I usually bring it into my shop for a couple of weeks to dry down a little closer to the house environment, before working the wood down.
Dave

woodbowl · « **Reply #3 on:** February 20, 2006, 07:03:41 pm »

Quote from: vet on February 20, 2006, 03:33:21 pm

Dundee,
The borer was fresh and still alive. Does that mean the wood has enough moisture to support life for the borer?

I'm not sure if they need any moisture, because I can hear them crunching in my shop that has been dry for years. I hope someone can answer this.
I've heard of people using "the bomb" by sealing the wood in plastic.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #4 on:** February 20, 2006, 07:16:46 pm »

Sawyer beetle in my stacked air dry pine. Was in the wood when stacked, but exited the wood and haven't been back. Logs layed on the ground too long before sawing.

Don P · « **Reply #5 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:10:51 pm »

Vet, I think you're talking about a lyctid powderpost beetle, there's alot of info here and on the net. Heat above 130F to the core is the best kill. If they got into the framing I'd borate the shop. They can live in relatively dry wood, it slows them down but doesn't stop them. I think Swampdonkey's borer runs out of jaw muscles below about 20% moisture

.

woodbowl · « **Reply #6 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:29:13 pm »

Quote from: Don P on February 20, 2006, 09:10:51 pm

If they got into the framing I'd borate the shop.

Got a good borate recipie? With methods of application? There having a feast in my shop. If you bump some places, the powder will fall.

Dan_Shade · « **Reply #7 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:37:35 pm »

do sawyer beetles attack hardwoods?

Don P · « **Reply #8 on:** February 20, 2006, 10:26:26 pm »

I can give you one recipe, beetle has posted another (Navy?) one a couple of times. I use Solubor, a wettable powder for soil boron ammendment, available at the farm supply. The listed chemical is Timbor. Chemically they are both disodium octaborate tetrahydrate and came out of the same hole in the earth. I use about a pound per gallon of hot tap water.

Since it travels in on the moisture, saturating and keeping a wet edge helps it go deeper. Bora-care is a borate/ethylene glycol mix. Glycols evaporate very slowly, keeps the wood wet longer. In a 4 gallon batch of mix about 1/3 gallon of antifreeze seems to work. A drywall strirrer on a drill works good to stir it up.

Garden sprayer, strain in and shake often, shoot the whole can, flood the surface repeatedly, big orifices if you have a choice. Clean the sprayer. The stuff crystallizes pretty fast. Nuke em till they glow

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2006, 07:18:30 am »

Quote from: Dan_Shade on February 20, 2006, 09:37:35 pm

do sawyer beetles attack hardwoods?

I'm pretty sure they do. But, another pest is the golden pubrestid beetle. I seen a couple this past summer in the firewood pile when the guy finished dumping the load. They're are actually quite pretty, metalic bronze or green. They are a flat-headed borer with oval exit holes, while sawyers are round-headed borers with round exit holes.

vet · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2006, 10:41:34 am »

DonP thank you very much for the recipe. Also Swamp Donkey, these larva are flat headed borers. I am at work but I think the exit holes are round. I will look closer tonight.
Dave

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2006, 11:25:18 am »

flat headed borers make oval exit holes

woodbowl · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2006, 11:29:43 am »

SD, I'm heading out to the log pile now. I noticed some flat head larva yesterday. Will try to get a few pics. I'm wondering how our southern borers are classified.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2006, 11:48:09 am »

I'm sure they are classified the same as our northern ones.

PESTS

woodbowl · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2006, 11:14:16 pm »

Here they are. This time of year they are small, but later on they will be almost the size of my finger. I'm wondering what they look like in the adult stage.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #15 on:** February 22, 2006, 06:54:31 am »

Well, here is the golden buprestid, flat-headed borer.

Golden Buprestid -link

The emerald ash borer is also a member of the Buprestidae family. Here is a list of buprestidae

spotworm borer
bronze birch borer
hickory spiral borer
twolined chestnut borer
hawthorn agrilus
persimmon agrilus
granulate poplar borer
bronze poplar borer
hickory agrilus
emerald ash borer
rednecked cane borer
golden buprestid
flatheaded appletree borer
Pacific flatheaded borer
California flatheaded borer
flatheaded fir borer
eastern poplar buprestid

woodbowl · « **Reply #16 on:** February 22, 2006, 09:35:10 am »

If it can take 30 years.....[ quote: Require 1-3 years to complete development. In buildings, egg to adult development may be prolonged to 30, 40, even 50 years ]...... that would suggest that water is not present in accumulated form. I didn't mentioned that I also hear them crunching in the house I'm building. My thoughts have been to give them a year and they will all be gone. I'm starting to get real concerned about all this.
I've never seen so many different types of larva with a flat head. All the names are confusing. I think I'll resort back to the local name around here. ........ FISH BAIT

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2006, 10:52:43 am »

Man I'm glad I don't live in that house.

Dale Hatfield · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2006, 10:02:38 pm »

Here is a couple of ways i take care of them in carvings when they take up home.

I will let them work on some logs and not others. But once i have deemed they have done the job i wanted.
I do one of 2 things.
Hit em with a can of Pb blaster/wd40 or the likes the straw on the can comes in handy. Safety glasses are needed for this job.
On large holes I just hit with air from the compressor. Stand off to the side cause they do come jetting out.

Dale

woodbowl · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2006, 11:05:30 pm »

Dale, what's the blaster/wd40 for? Is it strong enough to kill them?
I have a log going across the top of the house and they got into that. I soaked some paper spit balls with lindane and plugged up the holes. Later on, I noticed that some were chewed away completely, leaving a hole. some were partial and some were still there. I dug those out and found the adult beatle ... dead. That's a good trick with the air compressor.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #20 on:** February 23, 2006, 06:25:36 am »

Sounds like a circus with the air compressor.

Dale Hatfield · « **Reply #21 on:** February 23, 2006, 06:34:18 am »

I think it is. i usually shoot enough of it in the hole to flood it. I figger they will drown in the oil.
I use oil based finishes so i don't have to worry about the Wd.

I use they spray on small holes and air on large ones.
I have used sanding sealer on some pieces that i forgot to deal with. They didn't get backed all they way out the hole. they were dead with their back side hanging out.

Dale

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Author Topic: Wood borers in dried lumber (Read 1907 times)