Holes In Your Woodwork? It Could Be Woodworm.

Have you noticed a series of small holes in your woodwork? Do your joists or floorboards seem suddenly brittle, or covered in a fine, sawdust-like powder? If you’ve had any of these appear, then you have the classic signs of a woodworm infestation in your property.

Woodworm are the larvae from many different species of woodboring beetle. The adult beetles lay their eggs on the wood, and the grubs will use it as a food source. Over time, they bore holes in the wood, leaving their tell-tale markings across your woodwork.

Having an active woodworm infestation can spell disaster for your property if not treated as over time, the wood becomes weakened, leading to structural problems and costly repair.

If have concerns about woodworm in your property, Biocraft South West can help – read on to find out more about spot classic signs of woodworm in your property or get in contact to get advice.

What causes woodworm?

Woodworm can be caused for a myriad of reasons. The various species of woodboring beetles have preferences for wood types, and as a result appear more often if this wood is used in your home and furnishings.

The Common Furniture Beetle is our most common on in the UK, and they prefer softwoods such as pine and spruce – however, they still target harder woods too. The House Longhorn Beetle is another common one, and they prefer the hardwoods such as ash and oak.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to avoid having any sort of woodwork in your home, as timber frames, wooden floorboards, etc. are the standard when it comes to construction in the UK. However, there is one attribute that adds greatly to your risk:

Damp

Woodworm thrive in environments where there is moisture in the wood they are destroying. Any sort of excess moisture whether due to poor waterproofing, or lack of ventilation, creates the perfect environment for these insects.

What this means is that the problem with woodworm is often a symptom of other damp and water ingress issues within your property.

What are the signs of woodworm?

The signs of woodworm most often appear in woodwork likely to be exposed to humid or damp conditions – typically in lofts, attics, or basements. Exterior buildings such as sheds are also known to experience problems with woodworm as they’re more exposed to the elements.

Common places to see signs are in corners and connection points between various sections of wood. Here you’ll find the typical clusters of small holes in the wood surface. These holes will only be a few millimetres wide but should be easy to spot due to how many there are in any given area.

Around these holes, you’ll notice frass – this is a combination of sawdust and insect excrement left behind by the larvae as they tunnel through the wood. If you an accumulation of frass appear suddenly, this is a sign of an active infestation.

Wood that’s affected by woodworm will have a hollow sound and may be brittle to the touch. In some cases, it might crumble with the slightest of pressure, which is why it’s so important to deal with woodworm before it gets to this point.

How to get rid of woodworm

The process of removing woodworm from your home is a multi-stage process. You need to address both the immediate infestation, but also the root course of the damp that is encouraging woodworm to settle in your property.

The best way to assess what steps to take next is to get a specialist timber survey, where a qualified professional can check your home for an active infestation and investigate where treatment needs to be applied.

Treatment for woodworm is usually a coarse spray application of insecticide designed to kill the beetles, larvae and eggs, and as the spray coats and soaks into the wood it should also prevent re-infestation in the future. If the infected wood is out of reach, or in a difficult to reach area there are also treatments that are a mist instead of a direct spray.

Be aware that these treatments contain chemicals that are potentially dangerous. For this reason, these treatments should only be carried out by a operative who is trained in accordance with the PCA Code of Practice for Remedial Timber Treatment.

Treating the root cause

As for the damp that’s encouraging woodboring insects into your property – we recommend getting a damp survey which can be completed alongside other investigative work. This way not only are you addressing the infestation itself but also finding out ways to prevent further problems in the future.

If you have any questions regarding woodworm, or are looking for a solution to a problem within your property – get in touch today. Our dedicated team of specialists are here to help.