# Termites in hardwood slabs



## RockyMtnBlue (Mar 30, 2013)

I discovered that I have termite damage to a number of slabs that I had in a commercial storage building for several months. Seems like I could still use some of the slabs if damage was not too great and if I were to kill any termites in the wood.

As far as killing the termites, the slabs are generally less that 4 feet long; I figure I can seal them in heavy black plastic trash bags and apply something to kill the termites.

Thoughts?


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

Most termites need moisture to survive; unless they are dry wood termites that are frequently found in places like California and coastal Texas. So if yours are the moisture loving type I would just set the wood out in the hot sun for a couple of days. Even if they are dry wood termites you should be able to kill them with heat and avoid insecticide. Inside black plastic bags in the sun should do it.


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## Snipes (Apr 3, 2012)

Probably ppb.. not termites


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

I agree with snipes. Likely not termites. Most likely beetles. Could be ambrosia beetles, but if the wood is mostly dry, they will have already acted like Elvis and left the building. If the wood is dry, most likely powderpost beetles. Best way to kill them is with heat. You have to get the wood to an internal temp (center of the wood) of 133 degrees and hold it there for at least one hour.


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## avsmusic1 (Jul 10, 2016)

Are the slabs off the ground? I'd echo the ppb idea if yes


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Close up pictures of the damage will help ID the pests. Include the "sawdust" from the damage if there is any and if possible, include a ruler with a relatively small scale in the picture. Of course a picture of the pests itself if there are any will make it a no brainer.


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

If you have an extra vehicle and are not in a hurry… A few sunny (San Antonio) days in the back of a van or SUV in the sunshine. Put a thermometer in there that you can read from outside to be sure it gets hot enough.

-Paul


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## RockyMtnBlue (Mar 30, 2013)

I finally got back to the storage unit and took some pictures.


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## RockyMtnBlue (Mar 30, 2013)




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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

What type of wood is it?


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> Probably ppb.. not termites
> 
> - Snipes


I agree, in all likelihood it's PPB.

Here is a quick brief about the differences between PPB, and Termites.

I am not familiar as to where the "dampwood" variety of termites are located. All I have ever encountered are the Subterranean, and they need the mud tunnels to go from ground to the feast. It's quite easy to see the tunnels. Key find on PPB is the frass, find a hole, and it's surrounded by what looks like stringy sawdust, that is PPB.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Wood looks like hickory or pecan. Hole look too large for powderpost beetles, although there could be some of them in there too. Looks like a type of hickory borer.

https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/HN-48.pdf


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## RockyMtnBlue (Mar 30, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I have a beetle problem. If I understand correctly, larva may still be in the wood. Thus, I really don't have any way of killling them so the slabs are worthless and need to be destroyed. Correct?


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

I live in the SW and have had similar issues in the past with re-sawn firewood. I individually wrapped the wood with a single layer of black plastic (6 mil) and let them lay in the sun for a few days. The got very hot and certainly killed off any buggers hiding within. A local trick to kill weeds in areas where you don;t want to spray weed killers is to lay a sheet of this plastic down and let the sun cook off the weeds and their spawn.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Using the black plastic in the sun, and HOT weather will raise the heat of the exterior portion of the wood enough to kill. However some wood eggspurts suggest if the wood is thicker, the interior temps do not change enough.

I have yet to read an article saying that a Kiln wasn't hot enough, if used long enough to kill them though.

Those who wrote this, often talked about the black plastic saying it's problem was nighttime, when temps dropped, and no Sun. This is also said about solar kilns, also because of nightime. They say it needs to be a constant cycle to be 100% effective. Of this group though, many have said if you lived in the South, where Sun was brighter, and temps were hotter that folks had fairly good luck.

For beetles with larva inside wood, Kiln drying is as close to 100% as you will find. It comes down to if you feel the wood is worth more than the cost of Kiln drying, or else it's often a fragrant hot dog, followed by Marshmallow kinda fire.

A little about Kiln temps, and length of time to kill bug larva

Another link, different forum.

The guy local to me sells wood/lumber, and his thought is 135* for 4 hours per inch of thickness. He sells the wood, and feels it is better if he wastes a small amount of wood that he owns, rather than send out infected product to someone, after they own it. Of all things he does, that is the one that scares him the most. Bad feedback, and articles that he sells buggy wood. Up in Ohio, because of nighttime cooling, it's often said until around 3 to 4 PM the temps inside plastic, or a glassed in solar kiln aren't high enough yet to do much work, so it's not from dawn to dusk.

From what I have read it seemingly doesn't bother many wood sellers, based on comments made on forums like this one. IOW one complaint, can negate 1000 good comments.


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

If you decide not to save the slabs, don't throw them out. Cut them down into turning blank sizes. 
Once they are cut into blanks, they are small enough to fit into an oven. And like others have said. 190 for an hour should do it. 
As far as saving the slabs intact. I have seen locals here in the las vegas dry heat build a tarp tent and sticker wet boards to dry them. 
They also used a small fan at one end to keep moisture down. And maybe a heat lamp for night time? 
Not sure if that will generate enough heat.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I've read that clear plastic will work better to get the temperature up than the black plastic because of the greenhouse effect. You actually want all of the sunlight to come in and the plastics keeps it in You do want some black or other dark colors inside the envelope to collect the heat, though the dark wood might be enough. I did this with some hickory a few years ago. I stacked my wood on my concrete driveway in July in Texas in a clear plastic sheet and I was able to get the temperature up to about 150°, though it cools down pretty quickly when the sun goes down. Of course I measured the concrete temperature at about 140° even without the plastic.

BTW, I discovered that one of those bug zappers did a good job of catching the beetles as they emerged from some pecan I had in my shop. If nothing else it may help prevent them from laying eggs in some new pieces. I don't know if it will work with PPB but it can't hurt to try.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

On most of the solar kilns i have sen the builders have painted the inside black. I know getting in a dark interior car on a hot sunny day, hurts a lot more than a light colored one.

Same as with a kiln, it isn't the inside the kiln temp that counts, it's the internal temp of the wood itself. Much harder to jack it up. The oven would work if you could get the wood inside. Just do it while you send the Wife out on a pre-paid shopping spree, and never tell her about it.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

One other thought…Since the slabs are only about 4' long, you could slap together a temporary solar kiln using a sheet of foam insulation or even OSB. You can simply duct tape some foam to form a box, open on one side, paint the inside black and cover the open side with some clear plastic. You might even want to run a couple of halogen bulbs inside to give it a little extra boost and keep the temperature up overnight.


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

I have a little electric smoker. It has a thermometer on it. On a sunny Alabama day (not plugged in), the thermometer easily reaches 140 F. It's just an uninsulated black sheet metal box. I think solar can get you there, but you might ask around to see if anybody has a kiln and will do it for you for a reasonable price. I wouldn't give up on that wood so easily.

-Paul


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## RockyMtnBlue (Mar 30, 2013)

I'm encouraged by your response to try to save the slabs. The remaining question I have is what can I do to be sure whatever damaged the wood is gone/dead?


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

As I have read and heard, if you get the center of the board (all of the wood) up to 140 F for some period of time (1/2 hour maybe), you will kill the critters, their larvea, eggs etc. Dead is dead. (Some say a bit lower temp.)

But I'm certainly no expert!

To follow up on what I wrote earlier, I took a look at my smoker at noon on a May day recently when it was about 80-something outside. The thermometer showed only 110. So I'm guessing when I saw it at 140, it was in mid-summer later in the afternoon.

-Paul


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

My west facing metal garage door on any non-winter day here in Dallas easily hits 130 degrees once the sun starts hitting it after noon. Add a little greenhouse effect with a clear window on an inclosed box or tent in a location that gets direct sun all day and I easily get a temperature inside the enclosure over 140 for several hours.


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