Written by Firstly, there is no such thing as a woodworm. Honestly. I can hear you thinking, what has chewed through my attic beams then? Well, it could be the larvae of any one of many wood-boring beetles found in homes, such as:
- The Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum)
- The Deathwatch Beetle (Xestobium rufuvillosum)
- The House Longhorn Beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus) or
- The Powderpost Beetle (Lyctus brunneus)
Yes, of course I am being pernickity. The collective term is ‘woodworm’, but it is helpful to know that there are species within this group.
Those little creatures sure can cause a lot of damage. Before maturing into a beetle, the larvae can easily chomp through a king-size portion of wood…It makes no difference to them whether that wood is part of a priceless family heirloom, or, you know, just an integral part of holding up your entire house. Luckily, this is a common problem in homes and you shouldn’t find it hard to find a professional who can help you or a DIY treatment for woodworm.
Common misconception number two (these little things are so misunderstood) is that woodworm only like old properties. Wrong.New houses make happy homes for woodworm too.
An idea to retain in mind as we start off. Evidence of woodworm activity doesn’t always need to cause you concern. Hopefully, what you can see are just the last few remaining signs of a historical and since migrated colony of woodworm.
So, the best thing to do would be to keep a close eye on the progression of the signs. Of course, no-one is denying that if you can see adult beetles running around the house, then you’ve got a problem. Similarly, if there’s an avalanche of frass ( that’s the dusty powder which comes from burrowing holes inside the furniture).If you notice an item of furniture showing signs of woodworm, remove it and keep it away from any other furniture that they could spread to.
If there are evident holes, you’ll want to keep an eye on them. You’ll definitely want to do this before paying out a lot of money, then finding that there wasn’t an active problem anyway. A quick and easy way to monitor the activity of woodworm is to, in winter, paint affected wood (beams, floorboards, doorframes…etc) with a layer of emulsion paint. This will block up all of the holes and seal in any larvae. Check back a few months later, between May & September. This ‘clean slate’ will make it very easy to see if new holes have appeared due to emerging adult beetles.
A common-sense approach is to be proactive in the fight against woodworm. If you want to prevent a woodworm infestation in the first place follow these guidelines:
- Keep all wood well ventilated and humidity levels low.
- In the summer, install an electric fly traps in notorious woodworm-friendly areas to kill the emerging adult beetles before they have a chance to reproduce.
Lastly, if you are sure you have a current & unmanageable problem, you’ll need to invest in some timber treatment in order to erradicate the colony. There are a number of low and high-tech options for whatever application you need, but remember – if you feel out of your depth, it’s best to consult a professional.
This article approved by the Editor of LevelAdvice.com and Showroom411.com
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