Wood working question (bug?)

[RPM]

Andy,

The deathwatch beetle is, I believe, limited to Europe. It is well known in English stately homes ... the characteristic clicking that it makes (not sure if it's the adult or the grub) is what earned it its name. In the days before effective insecticides as soon as you heard the clicking up in the oak beams of the great hall of your family's home then it was as if the clock started ticking on the death of your home ...

Patrick

 

[MarkV]

Derek,
I had the same problem with a fair amount of old barn wood we took down. I got a hold of an old barn and took down several trailer load of 1x12 rough saw siding that we stored in a barn for a year. We were using the wood for varies projects on a mountain house we are building. After seeing small holes with saw dust, like your father, I was not sure I wanted to put it in the new place.

Here is what I did. I took a large plastic tarp and stacked the wood loose, on the tarp, using 1x2's between layers. I then closed up the tarp the best I could and set off a couple of house fogging bombs inside the tarp. After a day we opened the tarp and restacked the wood. Some of this wood has turned into cabinets and tables in the house, more than a year ago, without problem. I have not checked the remaining wood for new critters in a while, I need to do that.

MarkV