Answer
May 21, 2013 - 07:43 PM
What you are dealing with is probably one of the most aggravating of all wood destroying insect infestations to deal with, next to the other powder beetle, the anobiid. You are probably dealing with Lyctid Powder Post Beetle. I have seen this beetle emerge out of a wooden hutch that was over 35 years old. No previous evidence of infestation, and all of the sudden, when the temperature and everything was right, they emerge and exit the wood leaving small exit holes.
The exit hole is the giveaway and can lead to a determination as to how old or new the infestation is. With older exit holes, the wood is oxidized and dark, with new exit holes, the wood looks freshly sawed and is clean. If the majority of the holes are old looking, and the new holes are relatively scarce, the beetles may have run out their lifespan.
The lyctid powder post beetle only infests HARD wood. Oaks, ash, mahogony, etc. NOT pine or soft woods. It can re-infest exposed hard woods once they emerge and exit the wood (it's the adults that emerge and the larvae or wood worms that do the internal damage), but they usually do not re-infest indoors.
So knowing that they only infest hard woods, seldom re-infest wood indoors, and if the majority of the holes are older and oxidized, this could give you a warm fuzzy feeling.
Now the bad news. You have to sand the finish off the floor down to the bare wood with a floor sander. Bora Care only works when it is applied to BARE wood. Not wood with stain, varnish, etc. The good news is Bora Care can penetrate wood up to about 2" in depth. So applying it from the top and assuming the wood is les than 1" thick, you should get complete penetration.
Removing and replacing boards can work, but if they show up somewhere else, you have to replace that board too. It can lead to continual board replacement and with the floor looking like a checkerboard of replaced wood. If this doesn't bother you, then it may be an option.
If you can treat the subfloor easily, then do it. It's not much more work if it is exposed, and since Bora Care will last permanently, yes for the entire life of the wood, it's worth it.
Bora Care will not kill powder post beetle eggs, rather when the newly hatched larvae start feeding, it kills them It also will not kill beetle Pupae, or adults, but that is not what you are after. Killing the larvae and stopping more damage from occurring should be the goal.
Also, newly hatched larvae have to get into the wood through untreated sides. They will not eat directly into paint, stain or varnish. The risk of them getting into furniture is almost non-existent. It happens, but rarely.
Treating with Bora Care is a permanent fix that even a tent fumigation can't match. Reason is that Vikane (gas used to kill powder post beetles) won't kill the eggs (Vikane does not penetrate water, eggs are watery), and also once the tents come off the house, the Vikane is gone. Nothing left to protect the house.
I know this is long, but hopefully you get a better idea of what you need to do.
Here is our page on How To Kill Powder Post Beetles - Click Here
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Ron
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