Mesquite? about worm treatment

[Mac Carlton]

I have about half a rick of mesqiute (ends treated) and dry under patio. Need to know what to treat the worms with before they eat it all up and make sawdust out of it???? Round logs.

[Richard Madison]

Some say if you seal the wood in a plastic garbage bag with a box of mothballs it will kill the worms. Might try it with a few pieces if feasible.

[Tom Hamilton]

Mac, when I lived in Houston the discussions are the turning club centered around: heat (microwave or oven); cold (freezer) or insecticide.

Of course, you could ship it to me in Georgia and fix your problem. I'll pay shipping!

Seriously, if you want to trade or sell any blanks let me know.

Best regards, Tom, in Georgia, where Mesquite is not native.

[David E Keller]

Turn it, man, turn it! Rapid spinning will get rid of those worms.

[Mac Carlton]

Mac, when I lived in Houston the discussions are the turning club centered around: heat (microwave or oven); cold (freezer) or insecticide.

Of course, you could ship it to me in Georgia and fix your problem. I'll pay shipping!

Seriously, if you want to trade or sell any blanks let me know.

Best regards, Tom, in Georgia, where Mesquite is not native.

Microwave -not near big enough
freezer- full of food and still would'nt be big enough ,the patio is not inclosed and we had some days down in the teens and they are still alive
insecticide ?
When I get a round to cutting some up I will let you know.
I picked it up at SWAT last year, as mesquite is not native where I live either.

[Frank Van Atta]

I use the microwave - since your stuff is too large for that you might see if the mothballs work. Others have suggested ammonia in a closed bag, but I would test that on a small piece first as it might darken the wood.

Me . . . I just let the critters do what they will until I cut the piece small enough to turn - then I nuke 'em. Meanwhile, they've made lots of interesting holes to fill with Turquoise or leave as "features."

[Allen Neighbors]

Those worms will live in the Mesquite through two weeks of below zero weather, so freezing isn't a good idea.
The way I get rid of them now is to drench the piece in Lacquer thinner.... 'course this may not be feasible for a large stack of firewood, nor safe, either, on your patio.
The only other way I know of to keep them from hatching out and re-laying their eggs is to put the wood into a large cardboard box, with a couple of NO-Pest Strips, with the closures sealed with masking tape. I did this for years, with fresh, green Mesquite, and some that I knew had worms within.
And I don't know where you could purchase the NO-Pest Strips, nowadays.
Might give you some ideas, anyway.

[charlie knighton]

i like the worm holes, let it be

[dan carter]

I use Home Defense Insecticide with good luck.

[Mac Carlton]

This is a picture of my mesquite that I was talking about.149192

[John Hart]

I love the smell of turning mesquite!!! Hope you get the worm thing worked out. It's a little hard to stick a half a rick in the freezer.

Maybe if it isn't infested yet...you could spray it with that 90 day insecticide.

[Cody Colston]

I'm thinking cover the wood with a good tarp and place one or two of those insect bombs underneath it. That ought to fumigate those worms outta there.

[Sid Matheny]

Don't think i would want to use insecticide and be turning it later even with protection. I would go with mothballs. The naphthalene and para-dichlorobenzene vapor in them should kill the larvae/worms since they go from a solid straight to a vapor.

Sid

[charlie knighton]

Mac, nice stack of mesquite :p

[Richard Madison]

Wow, that's a ship load of good looking mesquite. How about the tarp plus mothballs suggestions combined?

[Edward Bartimmo]

We had a thread a couple of weeks ago on best ways to deal with insect issues. The primary suggestions were microwave, freezer, commercially avaialble insecticides, plastic bag with mothballs, and submerging in denatured alcohol or similar chemical solution that evaporates off.

Like some others have mentioned above the idea of turning something that has been chemically treated and then aersolizing it while turing doesn't sound good to my lungs. I received some wood that had been treated with mothballs...didn't like the smell and it still is lingering weeks later. I tried the freezer on some wormy ash...seems to have worked but always the concern of some bugs ability to survive frigid northern termperatures.

I went with the DNA route on some mesquite. Early opinion is that color of wood hasn't been materially affected, workshop now has present smell of alcoholic wood tea, and there is no hassle to cleanup. Downside is that DNA evaporates and amount of liquid required may limit the size of piece that you can submerge. It might not be economically feasible for large pieces. Someone mentioned that they use a big 55 gallon plastic barrel, which makes sense for the initial price if you are doing large volumes. While soaking in DNA water in replaced with DNA in the wood, which results in water in the solution. Over time you will have water building up in your container that may rust it out over time. I am using a medium size igloo cooler with 3 gallons of DNA. Let the piece soak for a day or two.

In regards to mesquite, I am more concerned with the ant infestation that sometimes comes with the logs. I have never seen these types of ants with any other type of wood. They are extremely hard to contain and hard to kill. The idea of loosing containment of them and having them take root and burrow into other wood in the garage or get into a wall makes me nervous. I quarantine my mesquite if I think there is a problem. Nothing like the ants swarming out of a piece of wood while you are sawing it on the bandsaw... I am hoping the DNA will kill the ants, beetles, big grubs and little grubs. I cut a log the other day and found a grub the size of my index finger in it. The log had been in my garage for over 2 years...it's already 50% done for my hollow form.

[John Hart]

On the issue of ants...I have a method for them that works quite well. Boric Acid....a white powder, readily available at most supermarkets in the Kill Bugs aisle.....when mixed with peanut butter will attract carpenter ants...when mixed with jelly, it will attract sugar ants.

Anyway..you mix a bunch of boric acid with the medium...then set it somewhere hidden away. The ants come and get it, haul it back...feed their children...but most of all..the queen.

[Mac Carlton]

Thanks for the replys. I guess I should have taken a picture of the stack next to this one but it is not mesquite. Its only walnut ,maple, cherry ,and some splalted chinaberry is what we call it.Just figured out the picture taking thing today, so more to come.
I think I am going to try the tarp and mothball thing. I have the tarp already. Unless some other good ideals come in between now and then.

[Edward Bartimmo]

Alright...if you can get your hands on this it is worth it. Usually small pieces. The tree is huisache, which is an acacia like Mesquite, but smaller. It is often mistaken as mesquite. Key identifier is smaller dark leaves, and small safron yellow cottonball style flowers. The wood is a little softer and is a rasberry red color (bottom wood in picture) as compared to the rust color of mesquite (top wood in picture). One added benefit is that huisache makes a great steak.