Any wood worm experts on here?

[MoreWellie]

We moved to a "new to us" house this year and have just found some fresh woodworm holes in a skirting board. Only found them as I was lying on the floor looking at the damp in the wall and noticed a number of little piles of dust on the hard floor with dusty holes above them

Now there is a small amount of rot in that particular bit of skirting so I am happy to remove it to investigate the damp but I am wondering about whether I start needing to treat more of the skirting and door frames with woodworm treatment?

The wood is all varnished so presumably if I do treat it then I need to sand the varnish off first. Is that correct?

How far do the little buggers go when they have burrowed out of the wood? Do I need to treat the small amount of furniture in the room? All wood in the entire downstairs?

The affected piece is downstairs and the floor appears to be solid although I haven't taken up any carpet or lino to prove that

The only woodworm detected in the survey was in a separate outbuilding

 

[Kayos]

Are they fresh though?

Sounds daft but I'd say 95% of the "fresh" woodworm I have had on projects has either been old or mostly not even woodworm

 

[Islander71]

If you can see holes and dust it means the maggot like woodworm grubs that tunnel through the wood have emerged as tiny beetles, flown, mated and laid their eggs to create more harm. They can spread very quickly. The beetles emerge in spring/early summer. Yes you would need to remove the varnish to treat the skirting. Rentokil used to sell a wax polish infused with insecticide that is good for protecting furniture etc. that hasn't been infected with the worm, I'm not sure if its still available, but you could mix your own. Most treatments are based on pyrethrum, though you can also use a saturated solution of borax. The other treatments are asphyxiation - tightly wrapping the wood in plastic for a lengthy period, freezing the wood, though this does not kill any eggs, or heat. If my memory is right, I think it involves bringing the wood up to 60*C and holding it there for the heat to penetrate - this kill both the maggot/worm and any eggs.

 

[Morris]

Shouldn't this be in the wildlife thread

 

[MoreWellie]

Are they fresh though?

Probably, we have hoovered since we arrived
Whether we were thorough enough to have caught this particular edge is another matter

If you can see holes and dust it means the maggot like woodworm grubs that tunnel through the wood have emerged as tiny beetles, flown, mated and laid their eggs to create more harm. They can spread very quickly.

Wish I hadn't asked now
I don't suppose there is any way to identify where any eggs might have been laid as there is quite a bit of wood that would need to be sanded and treated if not

Shouldn't this be in the wildlife thread

Do we have one of those happy for it to be moved if we do

 

[Mark 5]

We moved to a "new to us" house this year and have just found some fresh woodworm holes in a skirting board. Only found them as I was lying on the floor looking at the damp in the wall and noticed a number of little piles of dust on the hard floor with dusty holes above them

Now there is a small amount of rot in that particular bit of skirting so I am happy to remove it to investigate the damp but I am wondering about whether I start needing to treat more of the skirting and door frames with woodworm treatment?

The wood is all varnished so presumably if I do treat it then I need to sand the varnish off first. Is that correct?

How far do the little buggers go when they have burrowed out of the wood? Do I need to treat the small amount of furniture in the room? All wood in the entire downstairs?

The affected piece is downstairs and the floor appears to be solid although I haven't taken up any carpet or lino to prove that

The only woodworm detected in the survey was in a separate outbuilding

Hi,

Woodworm can be introduced via furniture to other areas, I know you are aware of this but something to keep in mind.

Wood worm like damp timber as its more soft and chewable.

Remove all of skirting, look along its length, any further evidence, you will need to investigate much further.

But you are not there yet.

Hopefully it's localised, hopefully the floor is not solid as you may have to lift a few boards to treat.

But don't ignore it.

 

[Morris]

Do we have one of those happy for it to be moved if we do

Said in jest sir.
And yes we do have a wildlife thread.

 

[julianf]

Similar to fungus -

These things like humidity. Change the environment and that will, in time, kill them all.

My thought is that they are there due to the fore mentioned damp.


Google AI summery suggests that they cant really survive under 12%.

 

[Islander71]

The female woodworm beetle lays its eggs in tiny cracks or voids like a knot with hairline crack. The emerging "worm" starts about the diameter of a hair and gets to the size and appearance of a fly maggot, and can stay burrowing in the wood for several years before turning into a small blunt nosed beetle, emerging mating, laying eggs then dying. They seem to all emerge on the same night and are dead by morning. If you see a smattering of dead tiny beetles, you have a real problem.
It is almost impossible to see where eggs have been laid, and before the beetles form and emerge you can be blissfully unaware of the hidden worms inside the wood. The woodworm holes you see are not from beetles burrowing into the wood, but from the beetles emerging. It is said they prefer wet wood, but that is not my experience, they will go into hard kiln dried wood, but they do prefer some species of wood. Alder, lime and beech are very prone to their attack. Some exotics like teak are not attacked as they contain natural insecticide. The heartwood of oak is rarely attacked unless the tannic acid it contains has been neutralised by contact with lime mortar or plaster.
I have been working with wood for some 50 years and have large stocks of timber. Woodworm is a constant headache and requires constant vigilance and ruthless eradication to stop it getting out of hand. I have often worked on a project and its not till the finishing sanding that you can just see the tiny threadlike lighter line of a revealed minute worm track - sometimes it can be cut out and made good - other times you keep cutting and cutting to get rid of it and end up with just a pile of firewood...... They make keeping rust off steel stock seem like child's play.
One other way to eradicate I forgot to mention is to asphyxiate by painting all sides of the wood with a gloss paint. They do need air.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

First thing you want to do is check in the loft to make sure they're not up there!

We had a small amount in ceiling joists which we only found when kicking out the ceilings...from memory we sprayed the loft with some tablets dissolve in water. I think it was boron based...no idea if it worked but never seen them since!

 

[Turbo]

They really love plywood too!

 

[knighty]

a mate who had woodworm and did a lot of research into the best product to use recommended this to me

Pardon our interruption...

most important thing is to fix the damp... they don't like dry wood, they don;t drink water, just absorb moisture from the wood they eat

once you fix where the damp is coming from keep the place warm

if I were you I'd get a dehumidifier too... because other than the cost to run there's no down side... they don't cost that much to run... £10/week for a big one running 24/7.... which is cheaper than ripping a load more wood out and saves you the work etc.

 

[winchman]

In our experience we have only seen them in damp timber, but as already mentioned they can lie dormant for a long time I believe 10 years?
If you treat a piece of wood with woodworm chemical, allow to dry then cut in half and see how poor the penetration is, usually not deep enough to get to the larva.
Look at Peter Wards woodworm videos on you tube