Powder post beetles

[Matt Newton]

I've been doing some searching on the forum for info on PPB and still have a question. What effect does the boric acid solution or the fumigating have on the wood as far as finishing. If I spray it on rough lumber and then mill it, is that going to be a health hazard? I scored about 900 bf of curly maple and cherry for around $1400. I don't want to see it all go up in smoke. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Matt Newton
IAFF Local 2664

[Alan Trout]

Those are tough critters to get rid of. I don't think fumigation would hurt the wood. I know that they used to use Methel Bromide for powder post beatles and drywood termites. Once the wood is aired out after fumigation is should not be a problem. The only problem I see is expence. It can be a little pricey. If you could find somone in your area that does fumigation you might be able to take the wood to them and they could tent it at their place of buisness or at a job site and it would not cost to much. Also I think Methel Bromide was being removed from service. It can be pretty dangerous stuff. I may be wrong on that. I have much more experiance with chemical treatments then gassing stuff.

I have never tried a boric acid on hardwood to see what it would do before finish. I am not sure. It is a pretty safe chemical compared to others on the market. Borates have been used for years as a pretreat on framing lumber. Borates in one form or another are used for eveything from eyewash to diaper rash treatment.

Good Luck

Alan

[Russ Filtz]

cook it all under a black plastic "solar" tent?

[Jim Hager]

I have dealt with them little buggers before, and I did spray my lumber pile but it didn't get em all. I still had some of them in the material that appeared a couple of years down the road. The spray(I can't remember what I used) did not affect the finish and I saw no ill effects on myself as I used the material.

The best way to get rid of those is to re-dry your material in a kiln where they will get the temperature abouve 180 degrees. That will kill the bug and the larvae and the egg.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

If you can get the lumber hotter than 150 Deg F - all the way through - you'll kill 'em. the black plastic tarp idea above may work if you have lots of hot sun.

[Matt Newton]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I am going to end up using the spray due to the cost of fumigation. The black plastic is a great idea, but the current temp here is 2 degrees with a wind chill of -20. No outside work for me!!

Matt Newton

[George Bledsoe]

You could build a hot box. I got the idea from a Union buddy of mine, they use them on a job site to heat thier lunch. I built mine out of sheet metal duct work. It is basically a big tin box that is covered with sheet foam insulation and has three light bulbs in it. I put in the wood (making sure the bulbs are not in close contact with the wood) seal the thing up and plug in the cord. It gets to be in the 160 range although you really only need 135ish core temp for a couple hours. It kills anything in the wood and heats up a can of soup too!!!!! I am not sure if just a big foam box would work or not.
I built a solar kiln and use it and in the summer that will heat the wood up high enough. You could do a small amount at a time.
You will need to seperate the infected from the cured wood so it doesn't get reinfected.

Good Luck

[Mike Ross]

You might check for a local mill that has a small dry kiln available. Just a couple of days in the kiln and it should be hot enough. A few of the small sawmill owners in our area (Wa state) have kilns that hold 1500 board feet and love to kill bugs!

Ask your nearest Woodmizer dealer if they are aware of anyone in your area with kiln time available.

If you can avoid a chemical treatment you are not going to have problems with finishing and its more enviromentally friendly. As a bonus you will know your wood is dry.

Good luck,

Mike Ross

[Jim O'Dell]

Do these buggers ever attack live trees? I've got what I think is a Cedar Elm on the north wall of the shop that has little piles of saw dust at the base at times. I'll brush it away, look for a hole, but don't see anything. A few days later, there is more dust. If I could find the holes, I'd seal them with something to see if it would stop the damage. Jim.

[Greg Cole]

They do not attack live trees, but they don't go for the dead or decaying lumber-trees. They like the freshly cut variety.
One of the chemicals is "Bora Care".... http://www.nisuscorp.com/boracare.html