Keeping wood free of powder post beetles

[Kevin Guarnotta]

Well, I got a quote from a pest control specialist. He said $900 to fumigate. I think that is their minimum. I need to load it into a truck, drive truck to them. They will then seal & tarp truck, fumigate. Let the truck sit for a couple days, then I can pick it up. They will not fumigate at my house - they say it is too dangerous. I understand that. I am in a fairly densely populated neighborhood.

They say the chemical will penetrate the wood - and there will not be any recurrence in the wood. ie the bugs won't come back. I like the idea of heat treating, but I am worried that the bugs can come back.

Now I just need to rent a truck, and get some help loading it into a truck!

[Scott T Smith]

I like the idea of heat treating, but I am worried that the bugs can come back.

Kevin, heat treating is the only method approved by every single lumber organization in the US. If it is done properly (heating the core of the lumber to 133F for 30 minutes or more), all live bugs, eggs, and larvae will be killed.

Heat treating does not leave any type of residual chemical, which is good and bad. The bad part is that yes, the lumber can be reinfected. The good part is that you don't have to worry about exposure to potentially harsh poisons.

[Kevin Guarnotta]

Hi Scott,

yeah I get that heat treating will work, but I worry about it not working long term. I am not very prolific woodworker, and I don't have an interior space to store this wood. So it is outside, and I think likely to be reinfected if I heat treat. I've got one pile 9' long by about 4' tall, but about 4' wide. The other pile is similar, but only about 3' tall. I prefer treating once.

[Scott T Smith]

Hi Scott,

yeah I get that heat treating will work, but I worry about it not working long term. I am not very prolific woodworker, and I don't have an interior space to store this wood. So it is outside, and I think likely to be reinfected if I heat treat. I've got one pile 9' long by about 4' tall, but about 4' wide. The other pile is similar, but only about 3' tall. I prefer treating once.

Kevin, your approach makes sense and your concerns are valid.

[marty shultz]

Resurrecting the thread again.

I cut and milled a walnut tree in AZ 3.5 years ago. The 9/4" wood was air dried for 16 months when I discovered the dust from some type of beetle (powderpost?) I did some research, purchased bora-care and applied it as directed. I was under the impression that the beetles would leave within a year and never return again. I milled some of the wood two weeks ago. The sap wood has significant damage and the beetles continue to make dust.

I called the technical rep who makes the bora-care. The rep told me there isn't any fool proof way to make the wood beetle free. I believe he said the eggs could be in the wood for 5 years before they hatch and start the cycle up again.

Not sure what to do now. Someone suggested putting the wood in the attic. The outside temp in phoenix next week is 118 degrees in the shade. My attic will probably be 170 or so. I could put some wood up there for a several days.

[Scott T Smith]

Resurrecting the thread again.

I cut and milled a walnut tree in AZ 3.5 years ago. The 9/4" wood was air dried for 16 months when I discovered the dust from some type of beetle (powderpost?) I did some research, purchased bora-care and applied it as directed. I was under the impression that the beetles would leave within a year and never return again. I milled some of the wood two weeks ago. The sap wood has significant damage and the beetles continue to make dust.

I called the technical rep who makes the bora-care. The rep told me there isn't any fool proof way to make the wood beetle free. I believe he said the eggs could be in the wood for 5 years before they hatch and start the cycle up again.

Not sure what to do now. Someone suggested putting the wood in the attic. The outside temp in phoenix next week is 118 degrees in the shade. My attic will probably be 170 or so. I could put some wood up there for a several days.

Marty, in order to sterilize the lumber and kill all eggs and larvae you need to heat the boards until they are 133F throughout. Stickering the lumber in your attic in Phoenix for several days should do the trick. It would not hurt to store it excess lumber up there as well.

[marty shultz]

any other suggestions to the above post?

[Scott T Smith]

any other suggestions to the above post?

It's posts such as this that discourage me from sharing my knowledge on an internet forum.

[marty shultz]

It's posts such as this that discourage me from sharing my knowledge on an internet forum.

Hey Scott - I didn't see your response to my post. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's due to the nested responses. At any rate, I didn't think anyone had responded so I thought I was giving my own post a 'bump'

I appreciate your knowledge and will take your advise. I hope I don't pass out in the attic!

Cheers,

Marty

[Jim Andrew]

I sawed a bunch of walnut and red elm a couple years ago, and stacked it along the edge of an open pole shed, so it would be in the shade, and out of the rain, but would get plenty of air flow. The red elm got powder post beetles, and I found the powder flowing out of the holes, so moved the elm to a metal grain bin, which gets very hot during summer. Have used a bin to clean up boards with ppb, as the heat lasts a long time during hot summer days. The walnut still has not shown any signs of ppb, it was UNDER The red elm in the pile. Was concerned it would get infected, as there was some dust that fell down onto the walnut.
Had considered buying a shipping container to store lumber in, they are all steel with a wood floor, and should get pretty hot inside during the summer here in Kansas, does that seem like a good idea? Would like to put wood right off the mill into the container, with stickers of course, and I could possibly run an extension cord into the container to run a fan or 2, and maybe a dehumidifier. Any comments?

[marty shultz]

I sawed a bunch of walnut and red elm a couple years ago, and stacked it along the edge of an open pole shed, so it would be in the shade, and out of the rain, but would get plenty of air flow. The red elm got powder post beetles, and I found the powder flowing out of the holes, so moved the elm to a metal grain bin, which gets very hot during summer. Have used a bin to clean up boards with ppb, as the heat lasts a long time during hot summer days. The walnut still has not shown any signs of ppb, it was UNDER The red elm in the pile. Was concerned it would get infected, as there was some dust that fell down onto the walnut.
Had considered buying a shipping container to store lumber in, they are all steel with a wood floor, and should get pretty hot inside during the summer here in Kansas, does that seem like a good idea? Would like to put wood right off the mill into the container, with stickers of course, and I could possibly run an extension cord into the container to run a fan or 2, and maybe a dehumidifier. Any comments?

The shipping containers I've been in in the summer are hot. Not sure if they reach the 140 range or not.

[Scott T Smith]

Hey Scott - I didn't see your response to my post. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's due to the nested responses. At any rate, I didn't think anyone had responded so I thought I was giving my own post a 'bump'

I appreciate your knowledge and will take your advise. I hope I don't pass out in the attic!

Cheers,

Marty

Marty, no harm - no foul.

Heat sterilization is a much better option than Bora-care, and heat sterilization is 100% effective. Good luck in that hot attic!

[marty shultz]

Marty, no harm - no foul.

Heat sterilization is a much better option than Bora-care, and heat sterilization is 100% effective. Good luck in that hot attic!

I have a shed too. I'm going to check the temp in there today. Much easier access and cooler!

[Jim Andrew]

If I had to to achieve 140 degrees, could paint the top black.

[marty shultz]

Well, the temp in phoenix yesterday was 115f. I touched the side of my black truck bed and it was hot (140f at 8:00 am)! I decided to keep the wood in the back of my truck, separate it a bit so air could get to the surfaces reasonably well and cover the bed with clear plastic.

The temp outside is 120f today. An IR thermometer gun shows the outside of the plastic is 143f. When I stick the gun under the plastic the temp ranges from 178f to 200f.

The wood ranges in thickness from 1.75" to 2.0" and its core temp was approx 105f when I put it in the truck. The temp inside the bed should stay close to 180 for around 6 hours. Do you think that is long enough to kill the beetles?

thanks

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