Beetles in logs

[Steve Bullman]

I took a load of logs to a regular customer today, when I arrived he proceeded to explain to me how they had beetles coming out of the previous logs i'd taken. This is what they ID'd it as

[Steve Bullman]

when i got to thinking about it, this load of wood is from 2 seasons ago. im particularly interested to know if this beetle, if ID'd correct would have been in the wood originally or layed eggs since. I havent had anyone else mention it but am still concerned it may have been a problem in my woodpile. I did find a grub which made me wonder if they attacked the wood more recently.

if anyone has any further info or details about the beetle it would be appreciated!

[Amelanchier]

The larval stages of beetles are notoriously difficult to ID.

 

Best way is to isolate a few affected pieces with larva in a jar with a mesh lid (yeah big jar). Then ID the little critters when they emerge.

 

Wood boring beetles are sometimes best identified by their 'galleries' and the cross section of their tunnels, but those look a bit three-dimensional.

 

Having said that, they can't be too much of a problem in firewood. Probably more of a pest in stored timber. (Unless the emergence of beetles in the living room is going to annoy the customers. I live in a barn, I'm kind of used to bugs and stuff moving in.)

[Steve Bullman]

more concerned that it was something that could potentially get in the rafters or furniture and do damage

[Amelanchier]

I'm at the edge of what I know, but good old wikipedia says...

 

"Depending on the species, Powderpost beetles can feed upon certain hardwoods or softwoods. Some hardwoods are naturally immune, if they have low starch content, or if the pore (vessel) diameters are too small for the female beetle's ovipositor which prevents her from inserting eggs into the substrate.

 

Wood preservatives can be used to treat the wood and prevent beetle infestation. The most common treatment uses boron.

 

Items that can be infested by powderpost beetles include any wooden tools or tool handles, frames, furniture, gun stocks, books, toys, bamboo, flooring, and structural timbers."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_post_beetle

 

Could be a problem...

[bill]

i think they feed mainly on unseasoned poplar

[neiln]

never a good idea to bring wood in from the pile/shed very long before it is burnt. It might look trendy to have a neat stack of uniform splits in the inglenook, but it does risk bringing the bugs in.

[bankhouse builder]

I had something similar come in some softwood this had been stacked for a while on the rides it was only in a few pieces which luckily I spotted early just dragged them out of the heap and burnt them on the bonfire worried me for a while thought it was going to spread through the rest of the timber stack. It wasn't visible when I picked the timber up around april time by june it had appeared and was chewing away at an alarming rate.

[spudulike]

I tink the best treatment of wood boring biitles is microwave Shashel- just fry it

 

I tend to place the infected log in my log burner for around 45 minutes, that eradicates the bugs and has the added bonus of keeping you warm.......if it is lit:thumbup:

[will562]

I've had beetles emerging from Ash before. Think they just ate the bark though.