Fight woodworms without poison

Basics about the woodworm

• The animal commonly referred to as woodworm is the larva of the common rodent beetle (Anobium punctatum). Round holes in the wood only prove one thing, namely that there is a time in the wood Beetle has lived. This flew out and probably left eggs in the wood.
• New larvae develop from these eggs. Your wood is only at risk when these are active. Under unfavorable conditions, the eggs can survive for years without larvae hatching from them. It can even happen that the eggs or the larvae hatched from them perish.
• Combating with poison only makes sense if the larvae are active; as an egg or pupa, this does nothing to harm the offspring of the beetles. For the larvae to develop, it has to be between 13 and 23 ° C and the wood needs a humidity of at least 10%. In this respect, it is hardly to be expected that the woodworm can damage wood that is in a heated room.
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• Place dark paper under the wood where you discover the holes. If you find sawdust, the woodworm is active. If you can't find any sawdust, pry some wood out of the part. If you find fine flour in it that clogs the aisles and is reminiscent of talc, then you probably have sapwood beetles in the wood. They like warmth and also very dry wood.

Warning: there are also other wood pests, oval holes indicate the house buck, which can completely destroy wood. If you find such holes in load-bearing parts of the house, seek advice from a professional.

Fight wood pests without poison

• If it is an infestation by the common rodent beetle, it is usually sufficient if the infected wood is in a heated room. Just watch to see if wood dust trickles out of the holes. If not, you don't need to do anything.
• That would be of no use to the sapwood beetle. In that case, you have to work with a greater amount of heat. This also applies to wood that you cannot simply keep permanently in a heated room. Heat the infected wood to over 70 ° C, for example by putting it in a sauna for 2 days. However, the wood can crack in the process.
• Extreme cold of below -20 ° C also brings success. If it's cold enough outside, you can take the infected wood outside. You may also have the opportunity to get an unused refrigerator compartment for it.
• You can put small parts in the microwave, boil them or freeze them in your home freezer for a few days.

As a professional method for large parts, hot air treatments are available, in which the wood is brought to a core temperature of 55 ° C. This method is the only non-toxic method that can be used to remove the pests from even very large furniture or wood that is permanently installed in buildings. Since you need special machines for this, this method can only be used by professionals.