Bears and bugs don't mix. Help save a bear.

[Joe Pack]

A friend of mine agreed to try to help save a chainsawn bear statue that had been damaged by wood rot and bugs on the legs. This statue is enormous...a good 30" in diameter and 6' + high. He drilled out rotten/bug worked wood from the legs, stabilized the wood and reinforced the legs with steel rods from foot to hip. Structurally, the legs and support should last.

The unsolved problem is that the bear is riddled with bug holes that appear to still be active...fresh sawdust found at the base of the statue after applying stain/sealer. The holes are just slightly smaller than a pencil eraser, slightly oval and are spread from head to toe. Too much work has been put into this carving to ignore the ongoing bug damage. The question is how to eliminate the active critters. Any experience with this? (Bug damage, not bears.):confused:

[Frederick Skelly]

Sounds like a nice carving. I would probably call a pest control company. Perhaps they can wrap it in a large plastic bag or such and fumigate it. (Im not trying to be silly. They wrap entire houses for certain termites.)

Good luck!
Fred

[Mort Stevens]

This isn't by chance the bear that was at Forest Park in St. Louis?

[Joe Pack]

No, this is a bear that was carved by or for a friend of my friend...it stood in his yard in southwest Indiana for a number of years until the base essentially rotted away. The bear really is a very good carving...not the typical chainsaw cuts, but a large amount of detail on the face, paws, fur...

[Bill White]

Product called BoraCare. It is a borate-based product for killing powder post beetles.Bill