Thread: Wood borer, what do I do about it?

The borers may still be active if they have found a little pocket to survive.
I normally just flood the area with metho and leave for a day.

I use ALDI surface spray for crawling insects. Works a treat and lasts for a very long time. Would not use it on food/kitchen projects though because of the residual properties of the chemicals.

So it sounds like it's not huge ordeal then. I know they like the sapwood, and that's where most of the activity is. I'll trim that out and spray any pinholes I find, and she'll be right. I might go ahead and rough mill the rest of the rough sawn boards. Cut the sapwood out, give them a bit of a once over, and put them back in the rack. It'd be a disaster if the borers got into some of my other stock!

Hi Roger,

Found this to work quite well, available from Bunnings.

Originally Posted by cava

I use ALDI surface spray for crawling insects. Works a treat and lasts for a very long time. Would not use it on food/kitchen projects though because of the residual properties of the chemicals.

Cava is on the money
Couple of $ buys surface insecticidal spray
Works a treat

Log Dog

Surface spray would be a good place to start but dont be surprised if holes still appear after spraying. The life cycle of borers and the stage they are at when spraying is done, will determin the success rate. The holes in your timber are most likely exit holes and the newly matured beetles have moved on to better pastures. So, as far as these little critters are concerned, you are shutting the door after the horse has bolted. That is not to say you shouldn't spray. After all, there is every possibility these or other beetles will return to lay and reinfest the timber all over again. This could continue while ever your timber presents as a suitable food source.
All borers are not the same. Each has its own modus operandi. Some are more damaging than others. A good place to start is with the dust around the holes. Rub the dust between your thumb and finger. Does it feel smooth (like talcum powder) or gritty? If smooth and the holes are small it will be Lyctus (powder post borer.) If gritty or course it will probably, but not always, be Furniture Beetle and the holes will be larger and not as numerous as those left by lyctus borers. There are many other wood attacking insects but these are the two main offenders. Let us know what the dust (frass) feels like ( smooth, gritty, clumpy, waxy, etc) and we may be able to give a better idea of what or who you are dealing with.