Kill the bugs!!!

[Woody Volland]

I just acquired a beautiful piece of raw Bermuda Cedar that I hope to turn into a finial/ornament. However, when I started to work on it, I found it full of termites :mad:! I'm not sure there's any hope for the stock now, but I'd still love to try to turn it. What's the best way to kill all those buggers? I've heard microwave or an oven at 300* or freezing or denatured alcohol or "crap, just throw it away." Before I start a fire in the kitchen or throw it away in a hermetically sealed, airtight tupperware container, anybody got a sure-fire way to save this piece of cedar??

Woody (yes, that really is my name!)

[Mark Gibney]

How big is your piece? I've put some smallish pieces of wood in our gas oven and heated them for an hour at 250* to kill bugs. You'll have to watch out that you don't scorch or burn the wood, you can start at a lower temperature and work up. People say once you reach 130* the bugs can't live.

With bigger pieces I've made a box using 1 1/2" thick foam sheets with a string of work lights inside, and a thermometer to read the temperature. I unplugged the lights when I wanted it to cool down, then plugged it back in. It took constant watching.

I don't think microwaving is effective - tried it once, nuked a small piece for a long time, turning it into different positions, and when I worked the wood there were plenty of live termites in there.

[Andrew Gibson]

I would cook them regardless of what you decide to do with the piece. Beyond drying the wood a kiln also kills all the bugs. I recall an internal temp of 160* to be the magic number, but I would ask over in the sawmill and kiln sub forum if you don't get a definitive answer here. The key is to get the piece up to temp through and through for a period of time. The time can differ depending on the bug I believe but I would check with the experts.

I like Marks Idea of the light box, but I would think a steam box would be more effective. Should be able to get the piece up to 212* without harming the wood. You would need to let it dry for a bit after steaming but it should dry fairly quick being that the piece is already dry.

[David Helm]

Are you sure they are termites? Is the wood wet? Termites generally require very high moisture content to survive. It could possibly be other wood boring insects. Can you post a photo of the critters?

[Woody Volland]

Good point, David. I followed Mark and Andrew's advice and baked the little boogers at 250* for an hour. I'm headed out to the shop now to see what turning yields. I just assumed termites.... they're very small, about the size and appearance of a rain of rice. But they bore like crazy!

Woody

[Brice Rogers]

Some wood turners will rough turn (fresh/green) a bowl and then boil it (an hour per inch of thickness) in order to reduce stresses that may lead to cracking. Supposedly, the boiling relaxes fibers. It also supposedly will decrease the overall drying time. I've done it and the wood didn't crack later. When you pull it out of the pot, it may look discolored, but it is very thin and disappears as the wood is turned. I'm sure that 1 hour of boiling temp will kill the little buggers.

[David Helm]

Sounds more like Lyctids or some other wood tunneling larva. Don't know where you are located but here in the NW there is another beetle larva called the Anobiid that does serious damage to softwoods.

[Danny Hamsley]

The magic temp that the wood has to reach internally is 133 degrees.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Danny is that 133° strictly for powderpost beetles or any bugs in general ? Is it applicable for termites and flathead and emerald ash borers ?

[Allan Speers]

I'd be careful not to go significantly over 133 degrees. (absolutely do NOT microwave it !!! trust me, I know this for a fact.) Very high temperatures can change the physical property of most wood species, because it heats up the lignen. The wood can become brittle, which seems like a really bad idea if you're going to turn it.

The other option is Bora Care, but for a small piece, heat would be much simpler & much less expensive as well.

[Cody Colston]

The 133 degrees is for any bug infestation, not just PPBs. That is the wood core temperature needed, not the kiln/oven/microwave temp. Wood is a good insulator and it takes a while for the core to reach shell temperature. Kiln operators generally increase the kiln temperature to around 160+ degrees at the end of the drying cycle and maintain that temp for a minimum of 24 hours to ensure the wood core reaches 133 degrees.
FYI - That is also why solar kilns are not considered effective at sterilizing wood. While they can reach 160 degree internal temp in the summer, they do not hold that temperature. Well before sunset, the kiln temperature will start dropping because the solar collector isn't receiving direct sunlight.

[Danny Hamsley]

+1 to waht Cody shared. I run my kiln at 150 degrees at the end of the cycle for 24 hours to assure that all the beetles and other noxious things have perished. All commercial hardwoods are heated to assure 133 degrees internal temp to sterilize.