Powder post beetles in a finished project, need help!

[Bill Dufour]

I used to hear radio commercials for the environmentally correct termite treatment company. I think they used liquid nitrogen to freeze the little devils. I suppose freezing and suffocating them from lack of O2.
Bil lD

[Wes Billups]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. On Sunday I decided to go probably the most destructive route by ripping off both edges from the waterfall desk and then gluing on new wood to regain the lost width. My thinking behind this was all of the visible damage was in the outside 1" where the sapwood existed and I was worried baking the little critters would cause the waterfall joint to fail which would mean rebuilding the whole thing.

The fact I had a 2" thick piece of cherry on hand which was perfectly sized to replace the lost wood finished the decision for me. I cut the edge with the most damage and had to rip it three more times, taking 1/4" with each pass, until I say no evidence of tunnels.

This was after the first rip pass approximately 3/4" in from the live edge where a beetle had popped through the finish. I kept cutting until there were no more holes. Ended up taking about 3" off of the front edge and only 1" off the back edge.
Hole5.jpg

The cherry board I had to rebuild the width was 6" wide so the modified desk will actually be deeper once I'm all done. I think it'll look pretty nice with a darker 3" boarder on both edges with the Kentucky coffee wood in the center. I did finish machining, gluing, and sanding all on Sunday night. I'll post some pics after the finish is applied as it's pretty "blah" right now.

Out of curiosity I cut across the grain at the biggest hole and confirmed it was definitely powder post beetles. All cutoffs from the desk were burnt in our firepit Sunday evening as well.
Hole3_LI.jpg Hole6 (2)_LI.jpg
*Red circles signify the same hole.

[Tom Bender]

133 is not all that hot. (hot attic in summer, hot car) You might just want to make a temporary box with sheet goods and a heater to be sure before you add the Cherry. You will want to insulate the floor of the box and maybe throw a blanket over the top.

[David Utterback]

Tom's idea is what I was thinking and using sheet insulation material for the box. You could also possibly use a few incandescent lights for heat source.