Thread: Borers eating my stockpile!!

Luke not those beautiful boards you stole from Mal with the flame grain

drown them, spray them Baygon I bet to big to microwave or deep freeze

Yes to big for the microwave, maybe a small nuclear bomb?
I did spray them with a surface spray which worked..... Only after they munched through the other side of the slab!

luke, try pouring turps on the sapwood, you will more than likely have to do it a couple of times , but it has worked for me in the past.

I got a spray product from Bunnings that is for white ants & borers so I have given them all a good spray. The slabs are all stored under my staircase at my factory unit so I'm building a makeshift gas chamber around the slabs using a couple of canvas tarps, then I'm going to let off a couple of flea bombs inside the chamber.
This should stop those little bastards!

I use borax very successfully to prevent powder post borers in the poles I use for stick style furniture; they like sapwood and what I use is saplings that are mostly sapwood - including some particularly susceptible species like spotted gum. Borax solution gets sucked up the length of the pole via end grain immediately post-harvest, not applied to the surface after drying but it's very effective.

Syringe some borax solution into active holes and spray, or better soak the timber. It's low toxicity. Maybe wipe off excess to avoid water stains; the borax itself is colourless.

Boiling water is therapeutic when poured on termites ... might work as a gesture of revenge.

Paul.

Consider QuickPhos. It is primarily used in grain silos to kill weevils and associated insects, however it is also used to poison rabbits.

Tablet form, and available from stockfeed/produce suppliers. Circa $23.

This is what I would use on timber, under a tarpaulin or plastic sheet. Warning - It stinks and is poisonous!

Better they eat the sapwood in the stack, rather than in a piece of furniture. I store a lot of Cedar and just let em rip and tear as they only eat the sapwood.

Thanks all for the advice & at the same time keep it coming as this is a very interesting topic that affects all of lumber lovers.
My slabs are around 3m long so some of the above treatments are impossible but I'm planning on experimenting with some offcuts.
I had planed on using the sapwood for a little contrast in the table top but now realise this isn't really an option.


EDITED POST

Use fire.

Nuke them from space, its the only way to be sure!

Dave, I'm kind of assuming that it is Lyctine borers - small holes with borer frass (powdery ####) coming out of them - these are the ones that affect the timbers I use.

The CSIRO has some info on Lyctus (powder post borer) here that includes some info on dealing with infestations - pretty much what has been done or suggested (apart from the "Seriously damaged timber should be replaced with non-susceptible or treated timber.") -

vacuum the wood surface to remove loose frass
then flood brush with borer insecticide fluid (for example, the pyrethroids such as permethrin)
also, inject insecticide into emergence holes using a syringe or pipette.

and

placing the timber in a freezer for about one week (may suit small wooden articles and carvings)
fumigation (may suit furniture).

Of them all the freeze treatment sounds like the one I'd use if I could -even fumigation probably won't be guaranteed to penetrate well enough to be 100% sure. Then do a spray or brush over with borax solution after to prevent reinfestation. But it would mean renting some commercial freezer space somewhere. If the timber is valuable enough it may be worth the effort and cost.

I use borax mixed with kero. Works well. Only problem is because my workshop is the garage under our living area, the house smells of kero for a few days afterwards. Other than good ventilation nothing seems to get rid of the smell.