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Thread: Keeping wood free of powder post beetles

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    Keeping wood free of powder post beetles

    In the last 2 years I have been buying rough lumber off Craig's list, and this and other forums. I was told that some was air dried (some walnut and some oak) and others I was told was kiln dried ( cherry and walnut ) but I am not so sure it was. Anyway, recently I found some of the oak with powder post beetles - the holes and the frass ( dust ) indicating live , and some of the cherry and the walnut have the holes, though I can't be sure if there is frass or not and have decided the best course is to treat everything. From the internet I found that heating 4/4 lumber to temp of 130 or more for 2 1/2 hours or more will kill off the ppb and so I built a very small kiln on wheels, and have run a few loads through with no problems. Now that works though, I am not sure how far apart I need to keep the treated ( heated ) from the untreated. I have a small pressure treated lumber and black pipe rack - can I put some of the treated boards back on the lumber rack so long as they are not touching and are above the boards that haven't been treated. I stored the first few loads in my garage, but I am running out of room and life would be easier if I could take it from the rack one level at a time, and them return it to the rack but I have no idea how the beetles get from one board to the other. ( I considered putting swine flu masks on all the unifected boards - but that was too expensive ) Any suggestions apprecitated.

  2. #2
    A couple of years ago I picked up a nice looking cherry log on the side of the road. I took it home and cut it up on the bandsaw. I didn't know about powderpost beetles at that time. I noticed the holes but I thought they were from some long gone insect.

    Weeks later on, I discovered I was wrong and lost a few pieces to them. They had bored through one board and into another that was in contact with it. Had I not moved that board I wouldn't have noticed because they never broke through any exposed surfaces.

    I'm by no means an expert on this, but I think the grubs won't really migrate from one piece to another unless there is direct contact. Now the mature beetles are another story and I'm sure they cross open spaces. Luckily it seems they prefer cherry, especially with the bark still on.

    Keep a clean piece of it near your untreated pile and I think your treated pile of other hardwoods will probably be left untouched for a while. They seem to prefer dessert first. When you are done, treat it and, keep it around. Examine it closely from time to time to see if re-infestation has occured.

  3. #3
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    Barry, I have that powder post beetles can be found pretty much anywhere. But the closer the proximity the more likely an infection. I stored some mesquite, which I consider 'prime rib' for powder post on some red oak and for the first time got powder post in the red oak. And I know, to boot, that the oak had been kiln dried. My favorite rant: Kiln drying does not bulletproof wood against the critters. Kiln dried material is generally taken down to 6-8% moisture, which is too dry for powder post. But if the wood is allowed to sit in a non-conditioned environment, especially a humid climate, it can easily absorb enough atmospheric moisture to take it to around 12% moisture, which is 'wet' enough for powder post to live in. However, it seems to me, and I can't quote any authorities, that aging or heating wood alters the makeup of sapwood, which is where the powder post live. They may bore a short distance into the heartwood but are after the sugars and starches in the sapwood.

    To more directly answer your question, I think you would be OK to store the lumber in the same area but don't dead stack (use spacers) to separate boards and just keep an eye on it. Since powder post seem to get everywhere it doesn't seem to me to be mandatory to separate the two. Also, unless you want the look of sapwood in some projects cut all sapwood off something when you build it and you'll get rid of all but the rarest occurrence.
    And now for something completely different....

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the suggestions - I'll restack the treated in the shed, just keepinng the two stacks apart.

  5. #5
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    is there a way to spray the surrounding area to keep the bugs from getting to the wood in the first place? might be worth a call to an exterminator
    If you don't make mistakes, you don't learn.

    -- Sam Maloof

  6. #6
    Painful experience has taught me to Pre-Treat all my home-seasoned lumber with an aqueous solution of Boric Acid. I make my own by boiling boric acid powder in water till no more will go into solution. Then I spray it on using a one gallon poly pump sprayer. I get the boric acid from an Agway.

    The bugs that are already inside will eventually bore out. The ones outside that find the wood will eventually try to bore in. In either event the bugs have to tackle that outer 1/8” or so of surface wood where the solution penetrated. Then they die.

  7. #7
    Do you know if Boric acid dust presents a health hazard to people?

  8. #8
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    Kiln drying done properly kills powder post beetles that are already present, and any other insect infestation. It does it because the temperature of the wood is taken up to a point where the insects can not live.

    It does not make the wood impervious to infestations in the future if stored carelessly. It does guarantee that the wood you are bringing into your shop is free of pests. This is where some people get confused on this issue. If the wood is stored next to an infected stack, it too will become infested.

    I spray my wood down with a borax solution, and generally do not allow undried wood in the shop. I keep a few thousand feet on hand at times and am not willing to take the risk with air dried. It doesn't save enough money in my mind to worry about. Powder post beetles are everywhere so I spray on occasion just as a precautionary measure. It doesnt hurt the wood. I use 21 Mule Team borax, as was recommended to me by an exterminator.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Keehn View Post
    Do you know if Boric acid dust presents a health hazard to people?
    It is an eye wash......

  10. #10
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    The borax prevents ppb bettles? That is interesting. I'll have to get some and do some preventative spraying.
    Just gotta love this forum.

  11. #11
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    I forgot to mention the borax solution....it would be good to use it. You can google for a treatment and find several 'recipies'. Also there are several commercial borate treatments - I use one called Timbor. As I recall it was something like $70 for a five gallon bucket and it lasts a long time. A borate powder is mixed with water and applied with a hand sprayer. The treatment sits on and barely penetrates the surface layer. Powder post beetles lay eggs on the wood surface and when they hatch the larvae bore into the wood. As they ingest the borate it disrupts their digestive system and kills them. I wouldn't drink it but it's not toxic and I was repeatedly assured that it would not affect any wood stains or finishes if the surface was not thoroughly planed or sanded. Also, the treatment is used in moist areas like basements as it also inhibits fungal growth. If there are any powder post already in the wood it will not kill them as it will not penetrate deeply enough. My guess is that it may kill the insect as it bores through the surface to emerge, but the damage would already be done.
    And now for something completely different....

  12. #12
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    Boric acid is one of the safer (to humans and pets) bug killers that are readily available to the public.
    David B

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Edgerton View Post
    Kiln drying done properly kills powder post beetles that are already present, and any other insect infestation. It does it because the temperature of the wood is taken up to a point where the insects can not live.

    It does not make the wood impervious to infestations in the future if stored carelessly. It does guarantee that the wood you are bringing into your shop is free of pests. This is where some people get confused on this issue. If the wood is stored next to an infected stack, it too will become infested.
    +1.

    At the end of the kiln drying process, the wood is sterilized by taking the load up to 135 degrees or higher. It is important to remember that the CORE of the wood needs to reach 135, which usually requires more than 2.5 hours in the kiln at that temp.

  14. #14
    So are Borax (20 mule-team borax) and Boric acid crystals the same thing?

  15. #15
    Richard,
    One of the seller's web site says Timbor leaves a white powdery residue after it's applied. Is this residue just on the surface?

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