Wood-boring beetles (Wood Borers) Control

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The term woodboring beetle encompasses many species and families of beetles whose larval or adult forms eat and destroy wood (i.e., are xylophagous). Larval stages of some are commonly known as woodworms. Wood-boring beetle larvae feed on wood and wood products; adults emerge from larval feeding chambers through round, oblong, or D-shaped exit holes. Adults of some species also bore holes into plaster, plastic, and soft metals.

Depending on the species, wood-boring beetles can feed upon certain hardwoods or softwoods. Some hardwoods are naturally immune, if they have low starch content, or if the pore (vessel) diameters are too small for the female beetle's ovipositor which prevents her from inserting eggs into the substrate.

Items that can be infested by wood-boring beetles include any wooden tools or tool handles, frames, furniture, gun stocks, books, toys, bamboo, flooring, and structural timbers.

Three families of beetles have species of wood borers that invade and damage structural and decorative wood and furniture. These families are the powderpost beetles, deathwatch beetles, and false powderpost beetles.

The adults are very small, less than 1/4" in size. They are flattened and reddish-brown to black in color. Larvae are white, cream colored, shaped with dark brown heads. Larvae create tunnels in the wood and become pupae. As adults they bore out through the wood, pushing a fine powdery dust out. The shape of their holes are round ,about 1/32-1/16 pinholes.

The term "powderpost" comes from the fact that the larvae of these beetles feed on wood and, given enough time, can reduce it to a mass of fine powder. They are therefore considered pests. The family Anobiidae is the only one capable of digesting cellulose, the primary ingredient of wood, and all other species excrete the wood without digesting it.

Powderpost beetles spend months or years inside the wood in the larval stage. Their presence is only apparent when they emerge from the wood as adults, leaving pin hole openings, often called "shot holes" behind and piles of powdery frass below. Shot holes normally range in diameter from 1/32 inch, (0.8 mm) to 1/8 inch (3 mm), depending on the species of beetle. If wood conditions are right, female beetles may lay their eggs and reinfest the wood, continuing the cycle for generations. Heavily-infested wood becomes riddled with holes and rooms or basements packed with a dusty frass — wood that has passed through the digestive tract of the beetles. The larvae feed mainly upon starch in the wood.

The death watch beetle (Anobiidae) is a woodboring beetle, namely a beetle whose larvae are xylophagous. The adult is approximately 7 mm long. The larva can be up to 11 mm long.

Deathwatch beetles are closely related to the drugstore and cigarette beetles, which are stored-product pests. Adults communicate with each other and probably locate mates by tapping their heads against wood, usually at night. (Deathwatch beetles supposedly acquired their name during medieval European times from people who heard the tapping while sitting up with a sick or dying person during the night.) Adults are reddish to dark brown and lay eggs in crevices or small openings or pores in unfinished wood. Two years may be required to complete each generation.

Deathwatch beetles are found primarily in soft woods, including girders, beams, foundation timbers, and some types of furniture. Some species attack books. This beetle is typically found in old wood and may be associated with wood that is partially decayed. Deathwatch beetles prefer wood that is more moist (greater than 14% moisture) than what powderpost beetles prefer and may be less of a problem in houses with central heating and air conditioning. Larvae of deathwatch beetles fill their galleries with small pellets of frass (smaller than the pellets produced by drywood termites), which distinguish them from other wood borers. None of the other boring beetles produce pelletized frass.

False powderpost beetles

The Bostrichidae are a family of beetles with more than 700 described species. They are commonly called auger beetles, false powderpost beetles or horned powderpost beetles. The head of most auger beetles cannot be seen from above, as it is downwardly directed and hidden by the thorax.

Adults are dark brown or black, sometimes with reddish mouthparts, legs, and antennae. Adults of most species are about 1/4 inch long, but in some species, adults reach 1-1/2 to 2 inches in length. Adult beetles have a humpback appearance, so their head is not visible when viewed from above. This characteristic is also seen in deathwatch beetles.

Females bore a tunnel, or egg gallery, into wood or other materials, then deposit their eggs in pores or cracks within the tunnel. Adults of some species bore through soft metal, such as lead and silver, as well as plaster and other nonwood materials, searching for sites to deposit eggs or for protection from weather extremes. This gives rise to the common name "leadcable borer" given to one species because of its habit of boring into the metal covering of suspended telephone wires. In buildings, false powderpost beetles infest floors, furniture, hardwood paneling, and other wood materials.

Old- house borer

The old-house borer (Hylotrupes bajulus) is a species of wood-boring beetle in the family Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles). Contrary to its name, it is more often found in new houses; this is in part because new home construction may use wood infected with the beetle's eggs. Originating in Europe, the old-house borer now has a world-wide distribution, including the Mediterranean, South Africa, Asia, USA and Canada. Recently it has been found in Perth, Australia.

Old-house borers prefer seasoned softwoods, and particularly pine. Only the larvae feed on the wood. Larvae take two or three or more years to mature, depending on the moisture content of the wood. Larvae usually mature in the spring, and the mature adults then cut holes 6–10 mm (¼ to 3/8 in) in diameter to exit the wood. Adults are most active in the summer.

Common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum)

(Larve)

Wood-boring beetles are difficult to control once an infestation has begun. Prevention is the best management method. Protective measures should be taken at every stage of lumber processing and handling including lumber mills, plywood mills, lumber yards, furniture manufacturing factories, and building construction firms.

Sanitation is the most important aspect of prevention. Remove and destroy dead tree limbs around buildings or near any area where wood products are stored. Destroy scrap lumber and other wood products before they become infested. Kiln drying of lumber destroys beetle infestations, although it does not prevent reinfestation.

Materials used for construction of buildings and wood furniture should be thoroughly inspected before use to be certain that they do not contain wood-boring beetles. Protect wood from infestation by painting or varnishing to seal pores, cracks, and holes where eggs could be laid.

Small wooden items (but not those containing fabrics, pelts, or paints) can be heated in an oven at 120° to 140°F for 6 hours or placed in a deep freeze at 0°F for 72 hours. Longer treatments may be required if the wood is thicker than 2 inches. Although room-sized or whole-house treatments for powderpost beetle control are commercially available, there has been no published research on their effectiveness.

Remove and replace infested structural wood whenever possible to eliminate beetles. Destroy infested wood by burning or take it to a landfill area. Where removal is not possible, use liquid insecticides containing materials such as permethrin, cypermethrin, or cyfluthrin that are labeled for the control of these pests. Apply the insecticide only to infested areas, but be sure these are thoroughly soaked.

Remark:

Because of the 3–4 year life cycle of Anobium punctatum (common furniture beetles), timber or timber products bought containing an A. punctatum infection may not manifest holes until years after the timber has been acquired. Infestation can be controlled by application of a residual insecticide (such as permethrin) to infected areas, an annual basis over a three year period to cover the life cycle of the Anobium borer.

**Reference sources: UC IPM Online/ Wikipedia