wood bugs

[hnaz]

I was given some wood that has signs that bugs are boring it in. How best can I kill them?

[bigEd_H]

Some here have put the wood in a plastic bag and left it in the freezer for a few days. Others have suggested putting it in the oven at very low heat for a few hours. Still others have tried using a mircowave oven.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

[TreeWizard]

The freezer trick works on southern bugs but it's just like surviving winter for northern bugs, most can't survice a 200 degree oven.

[CarverFromNoWhere]

Heat is your best choice, probably the most efficient is poison but I would just use the oven.
Carl

[Claude]

Lots of good advice already mentioned. Yet another way is to
1) start up your car and back it out of the garage into the open air
2) put wood into large plastic trash bag
3) wrap neck of bag around car exhaust pipe so the bag will fill up with exhaust gases.
4) when bag is filled up, remove from exhaust pipe and seal it up with a twister wire, duct tape or whatever. Let it sit for a couple days, then repeat.

Note: works best when you first start the car, as the exhaust gases are the most potent at this time, and the tail pipe is also the coolest (don't want to melt the plastic bag onto the tail pipe._


Claude

[Brian T]

I'm new here. PhD in botany/wood anatomy/bugs. If your wood won't be damaged by heating, do the oven trick and straight to the freezer. What he thbugs can't cope with is sudden change.
Come visit: see what Mountain Pine Beetle did with mild winters. So sad.

[woodyou]

what about kerosene or mineral turpentine?

regards

[Dan Wegiel]

I just had the problem in a large hunk of cherry which I already carved, didn't know the "bugger" was in there. I did what Claude said, just be careful, the exhaust pipe gets hot very fast. Closed the bag with a twisty and left it for 2 weeks. No sign of bugs anymore.

Dan

[SeaLeveler]

Thanks for the tips.I was given some apple and loaded wood in leaf bags and soaked with insecticide.Tony

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

The exhaust pipe and the freezer worked for me on some ancient ironwood that was full of termites......has to be good solution to kill those suckers....old ironwood doesn't get that name for nothing.....!!