Somethin's been bugging me

[Josh Wright]

I definately have a powder post beetle problem in some maple blanks I have been turning. Tried mothballs in a sealed container and microwaving on low power after rough turning but they didn't seem bothered by either. I killed both them by longer microwaving sessions but also cracked the bowl beyond repair. Has anyone noticed if DNA or boiling is effective at killing bugs? I don't mind waiting for the rough bowls to dry normally, but if those methods will kill the bugs I will try them. Any other good suggestions for getting rid of these things?

Thanks,

Josh

[Dean Matthews]

considering they can live in milled/treated woods for years I am not sure there is a "reliable" way to kill them.

What about extreme cold instead of heat? With tobacco beetles one way to take them out is to freeze the cigars while in an air tight environment. I wonder if the same would work for wood boring beetles.

[jeremy levine]

Google killing them, I saw a few products.

[Dennis Peacock]

Found this:

CONTROL AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
The following points should aid in discouraging powderpost beetle infestations:

1. The first thing to do is reduce the moisture content, to a proper ventilation to less than 20%.Moisture meters can be used to determine the moisture level in the wood. Central heat,vapor barriers and good ventilation can help control moisture. Rough-cut lumber should be kiln-dried to kill all stages of the beetle. Reducing moisture however ,may not be enough to completely control powder post beetle infestations.


2. Un infested wood which is sanded and varnished will not normally be attacked by the adult beetles because they cannot find crevices in the wood surface into which they would deposit their eggs.

3. Items of value should not be stored in out buildings such as barns and sheds. These buildings are often infested with wood-boring beetles.

4. Infested furniture can be fumigated in a fumigation chamber. Only pest control operators licensed to do fumigations are permitted to purchase and use these materials.

5. Surface sprays containing borates will prevent newly hatched larvae from entering the wood. However, this technique is not effective on wood which has been varnished, waxed or otherwise sealed from attack by moisture.

6. If practical ,remove infested wood. If not,use residual borate insecticides.

Recommended products are two borate insecticides:
TIMBOR is a powder that mixes with water. One lb.is mixed with one gallon of water and sprayed to the surface area of in infestation. When sprayed it penetrates the entire wood, where it will remain for several years .An alternative to Timbor is:

BORACARE. Boracare is a liquid borate that penetrates faster initially than the Timbor for first few hours but is equal after that..Timbor is considerably cheaper per gallon use.

7. Fumigation may be advisable in cases of severe
powder-post beetle damage, especially where other methods
have failed or where rapid elimination of the insects is
desired. Fumigating is advantageous where it is hard to apply borate treatments such as cramped crawlspaces.
Fumigation must be done by a certified pest control operator. Fumigation is non residual and will not last.
Because of this, fumigation will not prevent future reinfestation if the wood is exposed to adult powder post beetles looking to lay their eggs.

[Don Orr]

Alcohol SHOULD kill them, but no guaratees. We used alcohol in college to kill insects for study and display. It leaves them intact and undamaged but dead.

[Glenn Hodges]

Josh, turn the blank, then soak the blank in DNA for a week. This should kill the little buggers.

[Frank Kobilsek]

Josh

By the time your turning the blank the damage is done to the wood. Dennis lives in the part of the US where these little devils are very common. Trust his advise. I tend to worry about my shed full of logs and slabs. Spring, summer and Fall I set off bug bombs (at twice the recomended dose) in my gravel floored pole barn where I store turning wood and firewood. It keeps the general bug population down but I'm not sure I am preventing boring bug damage to my stock. I suspect I'm just wasting $20 a few times per year.

Frank

[Jim Underwood]

I found that freezing a bowl with the larvae in it killed off the one that crawled out. I have no idea if it killed off any others. I still have the bowl, but I'm tempted to leave it in the freezer all night.

[William Bachtel]

Insects will be the last living creatures to die when we are all gone here on earth. In fact they may not die at all.

[Tim Gruss]

When I kiln dry in my solor kiln I need to supplement the solor heat source to achieve 130 degrees fahrenheit for 6 hours. This has always worked for me. Woodweb.com is an excellent source for sawing and drying lumber questions. Gene Wengert is the expert on the site. I hope it is alright to mention that site here. You will find it a very imformative site.

[Josh Wright]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I think I will give the DNA bath or boiling a try this weekend. They actually give the wood a bit of character but I don't want them decorating my house with little holes.

Josh

[Jim Silva]

Having had powder post beetles run rampant through my cabinet shop I'll tell you the FIRST thing to do is remove any remotely suspected wood to a distant location OUTSIDE!

They can quickly move to other things like oh... good kiln dried stock, structural members, and although I can't prove it I think they were drinking my coffee at night after I left work. (Those #*@Y!IOY#O!)

Vacuum and clean the area where you found them carefully.

If you've got rough turned pieces with them in it I'd try DNA for a few days but don't quote me.

I'd go with the suggestions Dennis made.
Or get an exorcist.
Or both.

GL

Jim

[Jim Underwood]

Sorry to bring up an old thread.. but.

I probably have the same problem with powder post beetles. I've been reluctant to use the bug bombs because of the chemicals involved, and same thing with the borate treatment.

I wonder about the pesticides used and how long they stay in the wood?

How dangerous are these chemicals if we're turning wood treated with them?

I know it's probably not good to breath borates....