Tiny Critters

[Royce Meritt]

Hey everybody!! I have a friend who has a slab of walnut. This slab has been in his garage. Now that he has built his new house he wants to use this slab as a backer for a towel bar. After putting MANY coats of finish on the slab and hanging it he has noticed tiny little holes starting to appear. The holes start as just a small (1/32" or less) "blisters" under the finish. Eventually the "blisters" "pop" and a hole appears. If you take a scratch awl or similar tool and poke one of the "blisters" there is a fairly good sized hole full of sawdust. By the way, the holes are only in the sap wood not the heart wood. I assume they are some sort of bugs. I also assume that when the slab was in his unheated garage the bugs were dormant and when he brought it into his house the bugs became active and began eating their way out. Am I correct and is there anything that can be done about the little "buggers"? Thanks.

Royce

[Mike Kelly]

Will it fit in a microwave oven?

[Royce Meritt]

Won't fit in a microwave. Slab is approx. 12" X48".

[Rick Haigh]

It sounds like powder post beetles. I did a search on google for powder post beetles and found some information.

I have heard of building a box and using a light bulb (or several) to raise the temperature of the box to >120 deg.

http://www.cce.cornell.edu/factsheets/pest-fact-sheets/powder-post-beetles.html

"For small items freezing or heating may offer a possible solution. CAUTION: Heating or freezing may have detrimental effects on some finishes. Placing small items in a deep freeze for 4 days or longer should kill larvae and eggs. A refrigerator freezer does not get the temperature low enough to give control. Heating in an oven until the internal temperatures reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit and keeping them at this temperature for 30 minutes also will control eggs and larvae. "

I hope this helps.
Rick