I have small holes in some logs being used for furniture and I’m sure they’re some kind of boring beetle. What species might they be and how can I treat? I’d like to save this furniture as it was handmade and only a couple of years old.
There are many species of wood boring beetles and being able to identify them based on their exit holes would be next to impossible. Some of the most common that can live and breed on dead wood include powderpost, deathwatch and false powderpost.
Powderpost beetles are amongst the more common and readily found in everything from furniture to log cabins. They’re in the family lyctidae and earned their name because of the dustlike frass which can be seen falling out of their exit holes. They mainly target hardwoods commonly used in flooring and furniture.
Deathwatch beetles are from the family Anobiidae and more closely related to drugstore and cigarette beetles. They are unique in that they commonly communicate with one another by tapping their heads on the wood they infest. This sound can many times be heard in homes where they are active and anyone experienced in pest control knows this sound.
False powderpost beetles are in the family bostrichidae and their frass is coarse compared to true powderpost beetles. Additionally, females are more likely to bore egg chambers in the targeted wood so seeing holes when this beetle is active means there could very well be a new problem developing. With most others, new holes is generally a sign adults are leaving and does not mean you have new or developing problems. False powderpost adults drilling is a difinite sign of new activity and needs to be treated aggressively to insure they don’t get a foothold on the location where they’re active.
Regardless of the species, any of these beetles can cause damage and should be treated seriously. The best way to take care of local activity is to treat with BORACARE. This product will penentrate the infested wood and get down deep where larvae are likely feeding. Once treated, the wood will no longer be able to host any wood destroying organism so Boracare will provide a universal protection against insects and destructive mold. This makes it the best overall product to use and effectively a one shot treatment ideally suited for when wood boring beetles are present. Treat where you see activity and any similar pieces and you should be able to get the problem erradicated before it can ever get established.
