First free wood, with termites - what to do?!

[Derek Hansen]

I picked up a couple of trunk sections of a large sycamore that had been cut down by a neighbor, about 36" diameter and 1 foot thick.

Had them sitting in the garage for a few days before I went out to seal them and it was then that I noticed some black dirt looking stuff in the center of the endgrain, and eventually saw what looked like a termite.

I assume the wood picked up the bugs after it was cut down, so hopefully there is not a lot of damage.

If this is the case, what is the simplest way to kill them and salvage the wood? I am not familiar with working with chemicals.

[Brian Effinger]

I'm not sure of how to get rid of the termites, but I'd get it out of the garage and away from the house. Of course that will get the termites out of the lumber... they'll be in your house.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I agree with Brian - get it out of the garage and away from the house. Next thing to do is rough turn everything as soon as you can. That will let you know what kind of damage has been done and whether or not you have any sound wood to work with.

Best of luck with it!

[Steve Knowlton]

You can put in the freezer and that will kill the bugs. I have heard this from a couple of friends. dont have the space or i might try it on some of my wood.

[Steve Frederick]

How about rough-turning, then a shot in the microwave oven..not your wife's!!:eek::eek:

[John Fricke]

I'd rough turm ASAP then soak in DNA (denatured alcohol)

[Bill Mitchel]

Would the termites "pop" in the microwave?:eek: I would freeze then rough turn to see the damage and decide from there.

Bill

[Allen Neighbors]

Termites live through freezing weather all the time. The best way I've found to get rid of bugs/worms/carpenter ants/termites, is to give the wood a good drenching with lacquer thinner. It will evaporate, and not leave a toxic residue.
Just a suggestion.

[Brian McInturff]

Unfortunately the little buggers seal their holes up with their dung as the move through their tunnels. The lacquer thinner typically won't saturate through that. The best way besides fuming with pesticides is to turn them out. I'm sure several of us have turned pieces and had the little buggers flinging out. I remember someone here that had a piece so infested I couldn't believe he was able to turn it. It also was one of the most gorgeous pieces I had seen. If you don't mind spalting, then take some of the wood and wrap it in shrink wrap. The bugs can continue to eat away at the wood but it does slow them down. Freezing them will keep them dormant but as soon as they warm up they are right back at destroying the wood. I've never done it but I've heard that an ozone generator can beused. You set up a fumigating chamber and then subject the articles to the ozone generator. The biggest draw back is it cause the decay rate on wood to speed up and can actually destroy the piece. This process has been used to get rid of the wood borer beetle by antique restores.

[Dick Strauss]

You could seal them up in a trash bag with some dry ice. They won't like the cold or the CO2. I think some of the termite treatment companies were using CO2 to tent homes for a while.

Get the wood as far away from the house until you are sure they are dead.

[Bernie Weishapl]

The neighbor had some wood he got and was going to turn it. He went out several days later and found the wood was full of termites. Yes they did get into his garage wood and it cost him to get rid of them. Get it out of your garage and away from the house asap. He hauled his wood to the dump and then had to treat the garage which he said thankfully wasn't attached to the house. Cold won't kill them as they are in the cold thru the winter.

[Scott T Smith]

How about rough-turning, then a shot in the microwave oven..not your wife's!!:eek::eek:

When kiln drying, sycamore has one of the slowest drying schedules of all species (similar to oak). Microwaving the wood may cause extensive checking and degrade due to the rapid loss of moisture content.

[Mark Norman]

Like others have said get that stuff away from the house and shop ASAP.
Take the chain saw to the rounds and see whats inside. The bugs may have destroyed the wood or maybe made it gorgeous. No telling till ya cut into it.

Where's the pics?

[Derek Hansen]

You guys have me worried now - I don't want my house to get eaten up!

1. The log was on the ground for ~24 hrs after it was chopped down before I salvaged it. Is is possible that I'm only dealing with a handful of termites? Is that enough to be worried about?

2. Once in my garage, the logs remained on a furniture dolly elevated from the ground. Is it likely that the termites left the log? There is a pile of shavings and some 2x4s on the ground nearby with no signs of damage.

3. Last night, I poured some spirits through the center of the log until it came out the other side. Nothing was flushed out. Kept an eye on it every 1/2 hour after and still no signs of activity. Then I sealed the ends and I will keep an eye on it.

Am I being naive/stupid to still having this thing in my garage?

[Brian McInturff]

Looks like a grub tunnel to me. White larvae looking. Eventually turns into a beetle. Pretty common. That's the appearance I see anyway. I don't keep any wood on my porches. I have a detached shop. If you can lay some poly out in the back yard or behind the house or something. Get a pallet and put on top of the poly. Set the wood on the poly and put a tarp over the wood. Do it in such a way so you have airflow through the pallet. You can even sticker your turning wood this way. Even though it doesn't look like termites you can never be sure some aren't in the wood. Better safe than sorry.Airflow and no direct sunlight are the keys to storing your wood.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I normally try not to bring in "fresh" wood into my house, just for the reason of bringing in new bug infestations. Termites are very bad and costly to get rid of, as many have already stated. I always try to leave the wood in my truck, away from the house and my "good" wood pile. That way, any new bug infestations stay away from the valuable wood in my house and good wood pile. The wood rattling around in the back of the truck gets annoying, but you get used to it. Watch it for a while and see what pops out. :confused:
Haven't seen termite trails like your picture though. Hard to tell with a large picture like that. Termites, from what I seen, tend to follow the grain. Not go across like that. Try google a termite picture.

[Dick Sowa]

I used to live in LA...climate similar to yours. Dry wood termites are the big problem there, and those don't look like dry wood termite tunnels. Instead, it appears to be some sort of grub, like others have said. Nonetheless, the smart thing to do is get it out of the garage.

You should cut it in half...along the pith, and coat the ends with Anchorseal. That will give you another chance to see what kind of tunneling has happened.

If it were my blank, I would (after cutting it in half), rough turn the blanks and then treat them...either with DNA, or by microwaving.