woodworm>?

[delabodge]

have deliverd firewood for 20 odd yrs,,,,just had call from lady saying my firewood has infected her frontroom with woodworm? errrm,,,,,,you sell wet wood you lose ,,you sell dry they acuse you of wood infection....I dont sell rotten old elm,,,,anyone else come across this,,? wheres her proof?

[firewood]

have deliverd firewood for 20 odd yrs,,,,just had call from lady saying my firewood has infected her frontroom with woodworm? errrm,,,,,,you sell wet wood you lose ,,you sell dry they acuse you of wood infection....I dont sell rotten old elm,,,,anyone else come across this,,? wheres her proof?

 

and her proof is......?

 

sounds like an attempt to have a claim up at your expense.

 

 

if your firewood has come from arb or forestry sources i.e. was cut while alive and then split, seasoned and delivered within a year i would find that very hard to believe.

 

a mould or fungal infection is another matter.

 

if she has no proof tell her to do one!

[Buzzsurgeon]

did bring some ash in a few winters ago and shed loads of wood boring beetles appeared and so did some holes in furniture and door frames, moved house shortly after. Ash seems particularly bad for this!:thumbdown:

[firewood]

according to this site:

 

What is Woodworm - Property Preservation Services & Woodworm Expert ? Wise Property Care - Property Preservation Services ? Wise Property Care

 

the beetles lay their eggs between May and Sept. They lay their eggs in cracks or crevices in the timber. the grubs then spend 2 to 5 years in the wood before pupating and emerging from the wood thru the characteristic little holes. I think the holes only appear when they EXIT.

 

the beetles only live for a max of 14 days. so there is only a very small window of opportunity for them to exit your logs, mate and then lay eggs on fresh wood in the house. Also bear in mind that the firewood is being burnt so the potentially infected material is being destroyed all the while thus minimising the risk further

 

so:

 

1. have you been supplying the customer for at least two years? exactly when did you deliver? was it between may and september?

 

2. any other customers reported problems?

 

3.have you seen any beetles in your woodpile or noticed any infected wood

Edited October 4, 2010 by firewood

[baz]

have deliverd firewood for 20 odd yrs,,,,just had call from lady saying my firewood has infected her frontroom with woodworm? errrm,,,,,,you sell wet wood you lose ,,you sell dry they acuse you of wood infection....I dont sell rotten old elm,,,,anyone else come across this,,? wheres her proof?

 

My wood ships with a lot of spiders, I wonder if she's a screamer? Woods a living material after all.

[dave fox]

ash and allder in particular, are high protien timber and wood worm loves em1

[dave fox]

i have a few customers who want '' nice looking logs'' to fill there fire place's in the summer, i always warn them of the risk!

[chris cnc]

i dont deal with much firewood but just out of curiosity, if you were found "guilty" of infesting someones house with woodworm or similar, is this sort of thing covered by your insurance? (i presume public liability.. or do you not need it for firewood sales?)

 

just being nosy really

[Rob D]

I have spent a lot of time looking into woodworm and how it works.

 

My conclusions are - woodworm is present wherever the conditions are right for it. The beetles are flying around the place looking for places to lay eggs. It doesn't happen overnight - as in previous posts the worms spend years in the timber (only make timy holes which you can't see when they go in). The traditional holes you see in wood is when the adult beetle emerges to mate.

 

In modern houses with central heating timber never usually gets damp enough for woodworm to do well. The beetle doesnot like laying eggs on treated, smooth, or dry timber.

 

Your customer has prob had an ignorant friend point at your firewood saying 'that's got woodworm and it'll go through your house'.

 

Well if her house and timbers within have favourable conditions for woodworm - the little gritters will be there already whether your firewood has it or not!

[log_hauler]

Keeping any logs inside your house presents a risk of infection. I'd always advise anyone to keep only a day or two's worth of wood inside- keep the rest in a dry woodstore outside.

 

'Display logs' seem to be a popular thing these days (I have a nice looking stack of perfect round logs by my fire) but they do need to be treated in some way first. Personnaly I 'treat' my 'display logs' by placing them directly on top of a woodburner for 30 mins or so until they are too hot to pick up (mind they don't catch fire though). This kills any creepy crawlies living in the log so they can left inside safely. Even then you should keep an eye on them for insect activity.

 

I grade my personal wood stores in three ways:

 

1) Newly cut green wood gets left outside, partially covered to dry out side naturaly.

 

2) I have other stacks of dry but sound logs which are ready to burn but could kept long term if needed.

 

3) My third pile is the 'imediate burn' pile- all the wormy, fungusy cuts end up here- my aim is to burn these logs first and get rid quickly. They never spend more than a couple of hours inside my house.