Bugs in my ash lumber ???

[Bob Jones]

I have been noticing some new "features" on my ask workbench. I suspect bugs, what do you think? The wood was all kiln dried, but I have heard that there can still be bugs. I only notice it on the top, not on the legs or bottom. Any suggestions? How would I kill them?
Any help would be appreciated. I hate to cover with poly because I don't want it to be slippery.

[Butch Edwards]

..those are more than likely Emerald Ash Bores,which are killing all the ash trees just about everywhere..I had a friend make a 2" thick ash slab tabletop, that did the exact same thing..
he ended up applying poly over it cuz there's no way to stop the remaining bores from drilling out...except cover with a hard finish.

[Dan Andrews]

These holes also look just like the kind left by powder post beatles. The holes and trails in the right hand photo look like they were there before the lumber was milled. Powder post beatles will leave trails under bark, but not on the bare surface of wood. They love oak, and will also infest other hardwoods. They also spread like crazy. Fortunately I have seldom seen them in soft wood. You should check your lumber pile and isolate any boards showing these holes.

I did successfuly kill them once in an oak beam in an old garage. I mixed used motor oil and kerosene and painted the beam heavily with it. I doubt you will want to do that to your bench. Hopefully someone with knowledge of extermination chemicals can give you good advise.

[Deane Allinson]

I made a large coffee table out of 8/4 Ash. Later we found "sawdust" on the carpet. Same thing bore beetles. In south Texas there were always people around that made sausage for sale. I called one that had a large freezer. We stuck the table in the freezer for two weeks, and now no bore beetles. I didn't know how cold his freezer was set but it worked on 8/4. I saved the table. You don't want an infested piece in your house, they will migrate to other wood species too.

Deane

[Lowell Smith]

Apparently, the Emerald Ash Bore leave a "D" shaped hole. Not sure about the powder post beatles, but this might help you differentiate.

I wonder if you can't try sealing the wood with epoxy (see for example George Wilson's comments) instead of layering up Poly on the surface.

Good luck.

[Mike Brady]

The mill where I bought my ash for my workbench suggested using denatured alcohol as a way to kill the critters. I don't believe those are emerald ash borers....at least you had better hope they aren't. Those borers have killed millions of ash tress in Michigan and other states as well. Some places are cutting ash trees before the borers arrive. Those little trails are from the powder post bugs, if I'm not mistaken, but they can stay alive in hardwood for quite awhile.

[David Keller NC]

Bob - There are several ways to kill "in situ" wood borers. One is sealing the surface, but I can understand not wanting to do that to a bench. Here's another way - take your bench outside when you'll have a couple of rain-free days and place it on a surface that has no growing plants that you wish to keep (the treatment will kill all living things under the plastic). Buy some cheap painter's plastic at the Borg, and a bottle of janitorial strength ammonia from Ace Hardware (theoretically, cleaning ammonia from the grocery store will also work, but it's much weaker than janitorial strength, so it may take longer).

Drape the plastic over the bench so that a few inches is laying on the ground all around the bench. Pour the janitorial strength ammonia in a shallow plastic pan - be careful; a snootful of the fumes will do some serious damage. Cover the 2 or 3 inches of the left-over plastic with some soil, sand, or gravel so that a gas-tight seal is formed. Wait at least 12 hours - the ammonia fumes will kill everything. Take the cover off, let the bench "air" for a couple of hours and move it back in - presto, no more bugs.

Note that ammonia fuming will darken your bench somewhat, but this treatment is kinder to any metal fixtures you have on your bench versus chlorine gas treatment. It also leaves no residue versus pesticide treatment.

[Jim Koepke]

be careful; a snootful of the fumes will do some serious damage.

I used to work on blue printing equipment and can verify that ammonia can do some nasty things to living things.

We used to keep powdered orange juice or other citric drink handy to help counteract the effects of getting a snootful of the fumes.

jtk

[Tom Vanzant]

If the piece will fit in your microwave, a few 15-second cycles a minute or so apart works fine. Don't let the piece get too hot to handle comfortably.

[ray hampton]

it the piece will fit in the microwave, WHY not buy a microwave powerful enough for a 20 by 20 foot room and you could treat all of the ash wood by the skid load

[Phil Thien]

Sounds like you got a bug up your ash.

Are you absolutely certain that they are new holes? Kiln drying takes care of the bugs. Lumber suppliers are typically pretty careful about hitting the temps needed to kill the bugs.

Of course, dehumidification kilns may be something different. Where did you buy the lumber?

Also, as someone else said, the trails wouldn't normally happen at the surface. Trails are exposed during surfacing. Once the bugs out out, I believe the leave.

If they are new and you really want to get rid of them, wrap the piece in black plastic and leave it outside in the sun in the dead of summer for a few hours. Use a thermometer with remote to make sure the temp in the center gets hot enough. There is information out there on this, others have done it.

Heat does it. I had thought freezing doesn't, as the larvae can survive freezing (I believe).

Of course, high heat could cause other problems, too, with glue lines, etc.

[Jon van der Linden]

it the piece will fit in the microwave, WHY not buy a microwave powerful enough for a 20 by 20 foot room and you could treat all of the ash wood by the skid load

There are commercial microwave lumber kilns.

To the OP, to kill insects and beetles you don't need to get the wood terribly hot, once you get up to about 130 F they won't last very long at all (for many problem insects like termites, 130 F will kill them in minutes). 130 isn't very hot, just figure out what the most convenient way is to heat the wood for a short period of time.

[Bob Jones]

Thanks for the tips. The bench is 9 ft long and I have 2 vises on it. I was really hoping for a simpler solution like spraying it with something. I guess that is not an option.

Yes, I am certain that the holes are new. The hardwood dealer is reputable, a lot of retail stores and cabinet shops buy from him.

[Michael Titus]

Unless you are seeing fresh, loose "frass" (sawdust-like droppings) I would assume that the holes are old. Reputable dealers sell plenty of wood with old (inactive) insect damage.

[John Smithe]

the dec code in NY state to treat wood for ash borers is...

Only firewood labeled as meeting New York's heat treatment standards to kill pests (kiln-dried) may be transported into the state and further than 50 miles from the firewood's source. Acceptable firewood heat treatment must raise the core temperature of the firewood to 71 degrees C, or 160 degrees F, and hold it there for at least 75 minutes. Most "kiln-drying" processes that reduce the moisture content to less than 18% achieve this sterilization standard.

and it says that moisture drying will NOT kill the beatles