HELP! powder beetle

Get yourself some ``Grubout`` very good works very well for me

Look for Tim-Bor or Boracare…or built a small chamber to hold the wood (kiln like) and bring the temp up to 130 for 6 hours. An insulated box and a couple halogen shop lights will do this.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Hi Martin:

My style is rustic.
So, I frequently drag wood home from the forests or from non-conventional sources.
I treat my wood with a dilute solution of borax and water.
It’s a natural insecticide and it doesn’t affect most finishes.
I use Twenty Mule Team Borax brand.
I make it with about two tablespoons dissolved in a quart of water.
I use soft water, i.e. rain water or water condensed in my dehumidifier.

-- Randy (P), rustic wood crafts, Morning View, Kentucky

Thanks for the tips

Well since the Beetles were very active in chewing the wood and some were as deep as one inch into the wood, I decided to cut all infected wood. About 75% lost on very nice 8 inch maple boards :o( .Now I wonder if I got rid of everything or did they actually laid eggs somewhere and the cycle will start again sometime in the future?

About borax based products, can it be effectively applied on freshly cut lumber? Are these products safe for health to keep treated lumber in an attached garage.

Daren, by using a kiln like box to heat the wood, doesn’t that cause the wood to crack?

thanks again

-- Martin, Gatineau, Québec

Note: I use Twenty Mule Team Borax.
It’s the same stuff we use to soak baby diapers.

Kiln drying will kill the current infestation, but if the wood is stored in an area with the beatles, it will become reinfected.

-- Randy (P), rustic wood crafts, Morning View, Kentucky

I’ve used Tim-Bor in a spray bottle and if I see powder I take the board above it and wet it all over and then put it in a seperate pile to not be used for a while. I don’t disturb those boards in over a year.

I probably need to recheck them and respray those that need it.

The most infected boards went on the burn pile.

With 10,000 bd ft of wood, I don’t wnat it to become a buffet pile.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Well, if it’s safe for a baby’s ass.. :o) and it’s cheap too

Can you apply it to green cut lumber? Have you had success with already infested lumber.

-- Martin, Gatineau, Québec

”Daren, by using a kiln like box to heat the wood, doesn’t that cause the wood to crack?”

Are we talking fresh sawn or already dry wood ? Dry wood no, fresh sawn possibly. It’s either cracked…or eaten by PPB’s (along with your other wood, including your house framing since you are storing it in an attached garage)
I would properly kiln dry it if it is wet, not just the hot box suggestion from my previous post, or burn it.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/