Hi guys.
I was wondering how you tell if WA termites or borers are still in a peice of timber.
It is a small peice for a handrail, My sister inlaw is using it as a handrail in her house and is worried they may be in there.
Has small hole like borers on the outside. Can she treat it to kill them if they are in there.
She doesn't like chemicals, thinks she may be able to drown them by putting in the pool for a few days. Is this true.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Jamie

If they are small pin holes it would be borer and the holes mean they have eaten their way out and left.

Not so as i have some silky oak that had hole then there was dust, well actually a pile of fine dust, Bastards

Jamie

Hi Jarrahrules ,
If you can get the handrail off go to your supermarket and get some borex or Produce shop
and ask for boron its the same as borex . Mix the borex or boron up as a paste and paint it
all over the handrail then wrap the handrail up in black plastic and leave it for a week or two
and that should kill them and their eggs . I hope that help and sister inlaw wont need to use chemicals .
Cheers Graham .

Thanks graham

I' sure she will like that one.

Jamie

That depends on your definition of a chemical.

From Wikipedia:

Toxicity

Borax, sodium tetraborate decahydrate, is not acutely toxic.[19] Its LD50 (median lethal dose) score is tested at 2.66 g/kg in rats:[20] a significant dose of the chemical is needed to cause severe symptoms or death. The lethal dose is not necessarily the same for humans.
Sufficient exposure to borax dust can cause respiratory and skin irritation. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal distress including nausea, persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Effects on the vascular system and brain include headaches and lethargy, but are less frequent. "In severe poisonings, a beefy red skin rash affecting palms, soles, buttocks and scrotum has been described. With severe poisoning, erythematous and exfoliative rash, unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and renal failure." [21]
A reassessment of boric acid/borax by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs found potential developmental toxicity (especially effects on the testes).[22] Boric acid solutions used as an eye wash or on abraded skin are known to be particularly toxic to infants, especially after repeated use, because of the slow elimination rate.[23]
Borax was added to the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) candidate list on 16 December 2010. The SVHC candidlate list is part of the EU Regulations on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals 2006 (REACH), and the addition was based on the revised classification of Borax as toxic for reproduction category 1B under the CLP Regulations. Substances and mixtures imported into the EU which contain Borax are now required to be labelled with the warnings "May damage fertility" and "May damage the unborn child".[24]

I'm sure Borax isn't the worst chemical you could choose, but it's still a chemical and it has the potential to do harm.

Cheers,
John

Well it won't be termites as they don't make holes to come to the surface, they make tunnels and like to keep in the dark and hidden.

As for borers is there signs of very fine dust either at the hole or on a surface where the dust might fall to? If not then as rustynail has said they've flown to coupe.

If it's only a small amount I have had success with flooding the surface of the wood with white spirit, needs to be enough to get into the holes then watch to see if any beetles emerge from any holes, as yet I haven't seen the grub stage emerge but if there's no more dust produced they are probably brown bread, hopefully! Turps or metho will also probably do. Not exactly a chemical free solution tho


Pete

Jamie, If the holes are showing dust ,that is a borer going in. If you just have pin holes and no dust that means they have left. If you rub the dust on your silky oak between your fingers it will be either gritty or fine and smooth like talc. If gritty probably furniture beetle. If smooth powder post borer.

Jamie, I have just reread my last post. Pease reverse my comment about the dust. The dust is left on their exit. Sorry.

Hey Rusty! do you know if you are coming or going

These days, I am getting so slow, I usualy meet myself coming back!