This article looks at the different ways to get rid of wood borers. This will include the most reliable treatment strategies for the best results.
How to Get Rid of Wood Borers
As the name implies, wood borers cause all kinds of damage to wood. Their immediate action involves burrowing through the wood.
Such destructive actions have made homeowners incur significant losses. The chance of stopping wood borer action largely depends on knowing what steps to take.
With wood borer infestation, it’s a race against time to salvage your property before significant damage is caused.
Areas to Check for Wood Borer Damage
If you’ve noticed or suspect wood borer activity, you must check the wooden sections or structural components of your home.
These include skirting boards, wooden tools, decorative wood, and flooring. Furniture is also among the wooden items to inspect.
To correctly identify wood borers, you’ll need to know the common signs of their presence. Like all pests, wood borers leave tell-tale signs of their existence or activity behind.
By knowing what to look for, you can quickly identify what these are.
Signs of Wood Borers
As stated earlier, there’s no effective treatment without proper identification of wood borer signs. Quite a several tell-tale signs are observed.
These include tunnels in wood, bore dust or frass, dead borers, eggs, wood borer larvae, exit holes on wood, and crumbling wood.
i. Tunnels in Wood
This is one of the most common signs of wood borer presence. Also called galleries, these tunnels can be hard to see as they’re camouflaged.
You’ll need to observe closely or call for a professional inspection.
ii. Bore Dust or Frass
As wood borer larvae mature, adult beetles emerge from the tunnels, with frass observed below the exit point. This is one of several tell-tale signs pest technicians look for when inspecting wood borers.
iii. Dead Borers
The actual sighting of dead borers is likely during an infestation.
While you may give different theories for the causes of such deaths, the most important thing is that you can find these carcasses to prove wood borer presence.
iv. Eggs
One reproductive behavior wood borers are known for is the laying of eggs in open cracks of wooden objects.
This sets the stage for safe hatching and continuous development of larvae within the wood before reaching maturity.
v. Wood Borer Larvae
During an inspection of wood borer presence, one of the signs you’re likely to find is wood borer larvae. Such larvae are usually curved in shape and have a creamy-white appearance.
vi. Exit Holes on Wood
Exit holes are likely to be found on affected wood. A close inspection should show round or oval-shaped hopes with sharp edges. These are usually clean and fresh.
vii. Crumbling Wood
If you’ve noticed recent crumbling of certain sections of your floorboards as you walk on them, it’s a likely sign of wood borer activity.
Such a condition will require further investigation to determine the exact problem.
Does Wood Borer Species Matter to Treatment Method Applied?
Before we get into treatment strategies used for wood borer issues, it’s necessary to answer a likely question that may be asked by persons seeking to carry out the treatment.
Wood borer species have no bearing on the treatment method used.
In other words, all wood borer species can be eliminated using similar treatment techniques. Common wood borer species include jewel, pinhole borer, longhorn, and powderpost beetle.
Others include the European house borer, Queensland pine beetle, and lesser auger beetle.
Wood-Boring Beetles Treatment
Several actions are needed to combat wood borer infestations. While most of these aren’t complex, you’ll need to execute such carefully to get the expected outcomes.
Strategies to consider include calling for professional help, buying timber from reputable suppliers, and keeping wooden furniture dry.
Additional ways to eliminate wood borers include isolating infested wood and sealing all cracks and crevices found on wood.
While some of these approaches are useful for active wood borer treatment, others are better applied as a preventive measure. Let’s discuss each of these points as follows.
i. Calling for Professional Help
Competent professional help is needed when dealing with pest issues such as this.
The experience and expertise of licensed pest technicians mean the treatment process will be much more reliable. A thorough inspection is performed to determine the problem and its severity.
This allows for the proper commencement of treatment. Professional wood borer control places the primary responsibility on the technician.
You only need to point to the problem for the treatment process to commence.
ii. Buying Timber from Reputable Suppliers
Where you buy your timber products matters.
Reputable suppliers ensure their timber products are treated ahead of time to prevent wood borers from damaging the end product after processing such timber.
So, you’ll need to be extra careful about who you patronize for timber products.
iii. Keeping Wooden Furniture Dry
Keeping your wooden furniture dry can go a long way to discourage wood borer presence and activity.
Apart from furniture, other items made of wood, such as doors, etc., need to be kept dry. Try as much as you can never to expose these to moisture.
iv. Isolating Infested Wood
There are times you’ll find wood borer-infested wood. To prevent further spread, you should isolate such wood immediately from the rest.
You may also destroy affected wood to contain the potential spread of wood borers to other timber products. This way, you’re slowing the problem.
v. Sealing Cracks & Crevices on Wood
We earlier mentioned that wood borers lay eggs in cracks from where they hatch into larvae that penetrate the wood causing damage.
To safeguard your furniture, you’ll need to perform the early treatment by filing up cracks and crevices created.
Getting rid of wood borers includes all the procedures or techniques mentioned above. Consider contacting a licensed pest technician to look at your situation for the best results.
Prevention is another effective strategy for keeping wood borers at bay.