There are a number of insect species that can occur in property - from beetles to weevils - but they are known collectively as Woodworm.

What is Woodworm?

Woodworm is the collective name for a number of species of Woodboring Insects that attack wood. The term “woodworm” refers to the larval or “worm” stage of the insects’ life when they bore and eat wood. Wood pests have managed to develop an astonishing variety of life forms, and can even live comfortably in totally dry wood.

Any infestation of Woodworm needs to be taken seriously since if left untreated, woodworm can seriously weaken timber leading to the eventual failure of the structure of a building.

There are 3 types of woodworm in this country: the Common Furniture Beetle, the House Longhorn Beetle and the Death Watch Beetle.

Common Furniture Beetle

The most common woodworm is the furniture beetle. This beetle attacks softwood species of timber leaving 1-2mm exit holes. It prefers damp, rather than dry wood and the grub will head for, and stays in, plywood for longer than any other timber.

Damage by the furniture beetle is identifiable by a peppering of tiny holes in the surface of the wood. These holes are in fact emergence holes meaning that the adult beetle has emerged from the timber after spending its time tunneling through it as a grub.  Damp floorboards, damp loft timbers and old furniture where the polished finish has worn off are good targets for the beetle. It lays its eggs on the timber and the grubs do the damage. With ‘active’ woodworm you will find a scattering of tiny dust piles on the timber - This is called ‘frass’.

Although a nuisance, structural weakening is rare with the furniture beetle, except in timbers whose cross section is small and there is a lot of damp.

TREATMENT – Common Furniture Beetle

Most DIY stores sell a variety of Permethrin based products that can be used in the treatment of Woodworm. This is a pretty unpleasant and dangerous chemical that should be used with extreme care. You should read the instructions thoroughly and be aware that Permethrin can be lethal to fish and other pets could be made very ill if they inhale or ingest the chemical. For this reason, it should only be applied in empty property and you shouldn't re-enter the building for at least an hour after application.

Another treatment, considered safer and most pleasant treatment to apply, is Boron Ultra 12, a water based ‘biostat’ that has no effect on other insects or mammals. This Borate is applied as two coats by brush or spray and soaks quickly into the timber. It is permanent and, unlike Permethrin, has no vapour and no smell. It can only affect wood boring insects, so other species (e.g. Bats which are protected), are not affected since their main food, the house fly, does not eat wood and so never contains any Boron based preservative.

Heavily infested areas of timber, and damp patches, should have an application of Boron Ultra Gel as well, to reduce the risks of rot and provide extra active ingredient.

House Longhorn Beetle

The house Longhorn Beetle is not common in the UK, except in certain areas of Surrey. It is principally found in roof timbers, where it attacks the sapwood of exclusively softwood species, often resulting in severe structural weakness. The holes and tunnels of this beetle are significantly larger than the furniture beetle. Treatment for this insect should NOT be attempted – it is a NOTIFIABLE PEST and you should therefore contact a professional, qualified Timber Treatment company to deal with it.

Death Watch Beetle

Death Watch Beetle is common throughout the South of England. Northern parts are less affected, mainly where timbers have been imported, particularly Oak from France. This beetle attacks large hardwood timbers, such as Elm and Oak. The beetle, having started in hardwoods like these can move across to neighbouring softwoods. This beetle much prefers very damp conditions and even better when there is some kind of fungal decay or "wet rot" in the timbers. The beetle needs these conditions to develop rapidly. Treatment is more difficult than for Common Furniture Beetle, partly because of the 10 year life cycle and partly because severe structural damage can be caused to even large section timbers.

TREATMENT – Death Watch Beetle

Surface treatment alone is not sufficient to deal with Death Watch Beetle. You should ‘sound’ the timber with a hammer, to identify any hollow sections and carry out drilling tests to establish the limits of the attack.

Drill the timber with 10mm diameter holes to within 15mm of the opposing face. Treatment kits will contain a drilling pattern for you to use. Then you inject a special paste into each hole, using an extension tube, injecting from the base of the hole outwards. You the cap the hole with a plastic cap or dowel with timber. Finally two coats of treatment such as Boron Ultra Gel should be applied by brush to all affected areas, and extending  at least 300mm clear onto sound timber in all directions from the attack.

Because of the long life cycle of the Death Watch Beetle, it is recommended that you carry out an annual re-inspection for signs of activity and re-treat where necessary.

Professional Woodworm Treatment

In more serious cases, you will probably need to have the property inspected by a surveyor qualified in identifying infestations. The surveyor will carry out a thorough inspection of the property to assess the extent of the woodworm problem. They will determine if the infestation is active and in need of woodworm treatment, and will usually also report any other problems in the wood structures such as rot or damp.

If it is found that there is an active infestation, the surveyor will then identify the type of woodworm infestation, how far the infestation has spread and if any timbers may need to be replaced. Based on this evaluation the surveyor will make recommendations for the appropriate woodworm treatment.

 

 

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