David Wadstrup
03-15-2013, 11:57 AM
Hi,
I've been on a few hunts for lumber in the past month, and have collected about 250 bf of both air and kiln dried walnut and 75 bf of air dried sassafras. On one of these hunts, I also picked up a very nice 6' x 20" slab of kiln dried myrtle. Just yesterday, I rearranged my wood pile(which happens to be in my shop, which happens to be in my living room) for easy access to the pieces I'll need first. Like usual, I topped the pile off with the wide slab of myrtle. Just this morning, I noticed fine dust and an insect exit hole in the slab of myrtle. And upon closer inspection, I noticed about two dozen more exit holes. The holes are small, 1/16" in diameter or smaller, and are pretty round. From what I can gather these were made by exiting powder post beetles(?) Of course, I'm panicking. Not only am I watching the $200 slab of myrtle being cosmetically ruined before my very eyes, I'm afraid that these exiting insects may infect the over $2,000 worth of walnut and sassafras sitting underneath it. Does anyone have any advice on how I can keep this from happening? Is it possible that this will happen? Has the damage already been done?
So far, I've only removed the infected piece of myrtle from the pile. I've read that treating lumber with boric acid can help ward off infestation. Unfortunately, I need to go a non-pesticide route. As I mentioned, my wood shop is in the living room of my one bedroom apartment(I am a hand tool woodworker), and I can't risk putting toxic substances(even ones with mild toxicity like boric acid) in our(my wife, my cat, myself) living environment.
I've also read that heating the lumber to 130 degrees for a few hours will kill all eggs, larvae, and adults. Should I try to do this? I cant imagine how I will, but it will be worth a try for such valuable wood if you feel it will help. A thick tarp sealed around the pile with some sort of heater pumping air into it, maybe? Or am I just being paranoid? Is the likelihood of a handful of insects infecting this wood slim? Am I worrying about nothing?
Please help!
I've been on a few hunts for lumber in the past month, and have collected about 250 bf of both air and kiln dried walnut and 75 bf of air dried sassafras. On one of these hunts, I also picked up a very nice 6' x 20" slab of kiln dried myrtle. Just yesterday, I rearranged my wood pile(which happens to be in my shop, which happens to be in my living room) for easy access to the pieces I'll need first. Like usual, I topped the pile off with the wide slab of myrtle. Just this morning, I noticed fine dust and an insect exit hole in the slab of myrtle. And upon closer inspection, I noticed about two dozen more exit holes. The holes are small, 1/16" in diameter or smaller, and are pretty round. From what I can gather these were made by exiting powder post beetles(?) Of course, I'm panicking. Not only am I watching the $200 slab of myrtle being cosmetically ruined before my very eyes, I'm afraid that these exiting insects may infect the over $2,000 worth of walnut and sassafras sitting underneath it. Does anyone have any advice on how I can keep this from happening? Is it possible that this will happen? Has the damage already been done?
So far, I've only removed the infected piece of myrtle from the pile. I've read that treating lumber with boric acid can help ward off infestation. Unfortunately, I need to go a non-pesticide route. As I mentioned, my wood shop is in the living room of my one bedroom apartment(I am a hand tool woodworker), and I can't risk putting toxic substances(even ones with mild toxicity like boric acid) in our(my wife, my cat, myself) living environment.
I've also read that heating the lumber to 130 degrees for a few hours will kill all eggs, larvae, and adults. Should I try to do this? I cant imagine how I will, but it will be worth a try for such valuable wood if you feel it will help. A thick tarp sealed around the pile with some sort of heater pumping air into it, maybe? Or am I just being paranoid? Is the likelihood of a handful of insects infecting this wood slim? Am I worrying about nothing?
Please help!