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Thread: Powder/wood dust in little piles on lumber

  1. #1
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    Powder/wood dust in little piles on lumber

    I have black walnut in my barn it is just air dried. It has some little piles of dust in spots. I'm assuming it's some type of bug, how do I kill it?

  2. #2
    Kiln drying. There are other options that require a professional exterminator.

  3. #3
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    What you have are powder post beetles and they can and will spread to other lumber. Kiln drying usually takes care of them.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
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  4. #4
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    Are there any other options? I think they are in my barn also, no way to kiln dry that. Something like a spray etc.

  5. #5
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    You can tent them off and then gas them. Like johnny says - it’s not a diy job.

  6. #6
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    For the barn, assuming the wood is accessible, spray it down thoroughly with BoraCare. If your state allows tenting and fumigation you can do that, but it is not cheap. Most states have banned the fumigant for this use. The borate spray is effective and pretty non-toxic to humans and pets, and if applied DIY, relatively cheap. It took about 5 gallons to treat my barn which had a terrible powderpost beetle infestation when we got it. No sign of bugs six years later.

    For the lumber, either pitch it or heat treat it. As I recall the number is something like 145 degrees for 8 hours to kill PPB.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    For the barn, assuming the wood is accessible, spray it down thoroughly with BoraCare. If your state allows tenting and fumigation you can do that, but it is not cheap. Most states have banned the fumigant for this use. The borate spray is effective and pretty non-toxic to humans and pets, and if applied DIY, relatively cheap. It took about 5 gallons to treat my barn which had a terrible powderpost beetle infestation when we got it. No sign of bugs six years later.

    For the lumber, either pitch it or heat treat it. As I recall the number is something like 145 degrees for 8 hours to kill PPB.
    Do you know hoe Tim-Bor compares? seems comparable but cheaper. This is more the option I was looking for. I don;t see any good way to kill every beetle in my barn. If I kiln the wood won't they just come back?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by cody michael View Post
    Do you know hoe Tim-Bor compares? seems comparable but cheaper. This is more the option I was looking for. I don;t see any good way to kill every beetle in my barn. If I kiln the wood won't they just come back?
    They can't come back to the treated material if you don't put the wood back in the barn...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
    There was a thread here in the past few years detailing how to make your own Bora-care mixture - much cheaper

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bradley Gray View Post
    There was a thread here in the past few years detailing how to make your own Bora-care mixture - much cheaper

    In fact that thread is a sticky in the Sawmill & Kiln Drying forum.
    Chuck Taylor

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    They can't come back to the treated material if you don't put the wood back in the barn...


    I don't have any other place to store it.

    I ordered Tim-bor I will test it out.

  12. #12
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    Could also be termites. Look up photos of "frass" see if it looks the same.
    Sometimes we see what we expect to see, and not what we are looking at! Scott

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by cody michael View Post
    Do you know hoe Tim-Bor compares? seems comparable but cheaper. This is more the option I was looking for. I don;t see any good way to kill every beetle in my barn. If I kiln the wood won't they just come back?
    Timbor doesn't sink deep into the wood. It's fine as a preventative, but not once you have infestation.

    - Of this I am 100% certain.

  14. #14
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    Do yo know if BoraCare penetrate any deeper than Timbor?

  15. #15
    I had to travel from Delaware to Florida to disassemble an installation to deliver it to an exterminator because of these buggers. Then of course, I had to reinstall after tenting. All on my dime, of course. That was three years after the initial delivery. IMO, I'd deal with it right or burn it.

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