Have I got Woodworm!

[PAC1]

I seem to have a bit of woodworm in my wood store.
The sap wood in this oak is just powder but the heart wood is fine. i cut the sap off and put it in my burn pile outside.

 

[Blackswanwood]

That certainly looks like frass. I wouldn’t be too worried if the holes where the beetles emerged are just in the sapwood.

 

[AndyT]

I've been reassured by people in the past that exit holes like this are no cause to panic. Infestation is unlikely to have spread unless your other wood is attractive to the pests, ie not too dry or cold.

Where I've had similar holes in wood I wanted to use, I drew circles round all the holes with a pencil and noted the date. Then I could look back later and see that there were no new holes.

 

[Richard]

I seem to have a bit of woodworm in my wood store.
The sap wood in this oak is just powder but the heart wood is fine. i cut the sap off and put it in my burn pile outside.

It's probably more accurate to say you had a bit of common furniture beetle in your wood. The frass indicates the beetles have left, but it's a good idea to mark existing flight holes as AndyT suggested and monitor for new exit holes in the future, which would indicate more recent egg laying by adults. Again, as he also suggested, don't panic, especially if your wood is somewhere near 12% MC because that moisture content is reckoned to be too harsh an environment in which the burrowing beetle can survive.

In addition, if beetles are still living in your wood, they'll go for the sugar rich sapwood, thus creating new exit holes when they leave as adults, until that's exhausted before successive generations of the beetle will turn to the relatively thin pickings of the heartwood. That will give you plenty of opportunity to reduce moisture content if needed and to maybe go at the beetles with a woodworm fluid, which will kill the beetle as it emerges as a new adult. Slainte.

 

[PAC1]

What was interesting is that the oak was on a mid level rack with Lime above and Cherry below both of which show no sign whatsoever of attack. I expected the Lime to be ruined but touch heart wood it seems fine. It must very dry.
Whilst "had" may be correct for the oak, where have the little blighters flown to! My wood store is a bit like a candy store for beetles!! I will find out next year.
I may in future cut the sap off the oak as soon as it arrives to reduce the temptation.

 

[Blackswanwood]

They can take up to 5 years to emerge and then they head for the light. They then mate and die soon after. The females are actually quite choosy about where they lay their eggs - cool and damp are their preferred conditions.

 

[Cabinetman]

Yes as Robert said they head for the light, I found a good few on the workshop window cill a couple of years ago.
Since then I have removed the sapwood from Oak as soon as I get it. The other timber that they seem to like is Ash.

 

[Woodbloke]

It's probably more accurate to say you had a bit of common furniture beetle in your wood. The frass indicates the beetles have left, but it's a good idea to mark existing flight holes as AndyT suggested and monitor for new exit holes in the future, which would indicate more recent egg laying by adults. Again, as he also suggested, don't panic, especially if your wood is somewhere near 12% MC because that moisture content is reckoned to be too harsh an environment in which the burrowing beetle can survive.

In addition, if beetles are still living in your wood, they'll go for the sugar rich sapwood, thus creating new exit holes when they leave as adults, until that's exhausted before successive generations of the beetle will turn to the relatively thin pickings of the heartwood. That will give you plenty of opportunity to reduce moisture content if needed and to maybe go at the beetles with a woodworm fluid, which will kill the beetle as it emerges as a new adult. Slainte.

As usual, excellent advice. I always as a matter of course chop off the sapwood on any newly acquired boards of oak or walnut and any holes that are left in the heartwood get a good dousing with woodworm killer - Rob