Thread: What is eating my timber

Lyctus borer or Powder post borer.
Anobium or Furniture beetle.
To determin which, rub a little of the dust betweem thumb and finger. If smooth its Lyctus. If course or gritty its Anobium.
Insect killer sprayed into the holes.

what he said ,they love old church organs for some reason.........bob

Those holes will be them boring out not boring in.
Cheers,
Jim

As Jimbur says, the holes are the flight (exit) holes of the mature beetles after they have spent their grub period munching their way through the wood. Filling the now vacant holes with insecticides is of limited use.

thanks guys.
so if they are boring out, how did they get in? how do i kill them?
worried they will eat my other timber, or my house!

Eggs are laid in suitable timber by adult beetles, the eggs hatch and the grubs bore around inside the wood until they are ready to depart, wherupon they burrow to the surface and fly away. Sometimes they will settle on the same wood, lay their eggs and so the cycle repeats.

The only way to kill eggs is to cook 'em! Kiln drying sawn timber usually kills off the eggs and any grubs, but not always. Timber can be re-kilned at a certain temperature to kill the invaders, but new beetles could reinfest. A surface spray on sawn timber can offer some protection; ordinary borax (available at Bunny's) dissolved in water makes a good and cheap surface spray.

Saturating already-bored timber with an appropriate insecticide will only affect any grubs that cross through the treated, existing holes or surrounding soft wood.

WW is quite right, insecticide will not affect the current crop. I was thinking more for future attack as the existing holes give some penetration to the timber.

Small pieces you could microwave, shake onto toast and add condiments to taste.
Seriously, one trick is to put the item in a sealed plastic bag and leave out in the sun for a few hours. Not the sort of treatment for delicate items though.
Cheers,
Jim

Thanks guys.
The doors are not delicate items. i got them off a furniture supplier, and i was just kept them to use as cupboard doors for garage storage one day. I will definitly chuck the 2 doors out, but i am more worried they have gotten into others, and hopefully preventing this happening in future.

Originally Posted by inferno6688

Thanks guys.
The doors are not delicate items. i got them off a furniture supplier, and i was just kept them to use as cupboard doors for garage storage one day. I will definitly chuck the 2 doors out, but i am more worried they have gotten into others, and hopefully preventing this happening in future.

I took another look at the photographs. Have the doors been stacked on each other vertically or horizontally? The reason I ask is that they appear to have been burrowing between two pieces of wood. Normally you wouldn't see those long channels until you planed or sanded down. If you stacked them immediately and left them until now, it might be seen as proof that they were infested prior to purchase.
Another old remedy is to soak them in kero.
Cheers,
Jim

I've had success with white sprits in mango, if I see any current activity as evidenced by dust, I tip spirits onto surface then watch, the small brown beetles come out and fall over, any grubs I assume are killed also as I see no further dust

Pete

The doors were stacked vertically. just leaning against a wall. There is no evdience of acitivity anymore. The dust felt smooth, not gritty.

They would be Lyctus if the dust is smooth and they will be back next year and the next and the next.............