Spraying to prevent infestation

[Nelson Howe]

I plan to take down one large ash and 5 cherries this fall, have them milled into lumber, and then stack and air dry them. I have no plan to kiln dry. I have time. I have a good spot, and the Shade-Dri wrap (http://www.shadedri.com) for my pile. I am in SW New Hampshire.

It seems I have read about people spraying their lumber with a borax solution to prevent infestation of powder post beetle or other insects. Is this common practice? Given my location and woods (ash, cherry) would this be an advisable practice?

Thanks,

Nelson

[Al Weber]

I lived in SW NH for 12 years and cut and milled a lot of cherry and maple. All of it was air dried without any problems with PPBs. However, I did have PPB infestations in my firewood and had to have remedial spraying done twice on the firewood areas. If you mill your logs quickly and stack them under cover but outside with a lot of stickers and plenty of air flow, I don't think it is necessary. Having said that, if you have any concerns at all, applying borax or another boron containing pesticide is probably good insurance.

[Nelson Howe]

Thanks for the information, Al.Nelson

[Danny Hamsley]

Powderpost beetles love ash. They do not like the heartwood of cherry. Here in the South, Ash, hickory, pecan, and red oak are very susceptible to powderpost beetles. I have had them get in the sapwood of cherry, but I would not worry too much about the cherry. If it was here, I would definitely have to treat the ash. The ring porous hardwoods are the ones that the powderpost beetles really like. They only infest the wood after it is dry, so the wood is susceptible as long as it is stored outside in a shed, etc.

[Cody Colston]

I would treat it. Personally, I use TimBor on wood to be air-dried, immediately after milling. It's easy to apply with a pump sprayer, it won't stain the wood, it's non-toxic and it prevents infestation.

Pretty cheap insurance, I think.