
| Contact Us: Office (505) 503-8339 Fax (505) 503-8339 E-mail: perrystermite@yahoo.com |

We are located in Albuquerque, with service all of surrounding areas. See photos of our termite damage repairs (before/after) on our (Repair Photos) page. See our (Treatment Types) page for information on our various treatment methods. |
| To treat, or not- Treatment for wood borers will depend upon several factors and they are: 1). Is treatment even necessary in the first place 2). If treatment is necessary, then what type of treatment 3). Type of wood-borer Treatment types are: 1). Localized injection of a pesticide into the galleries of wood 2). Fumigation in a vault or sealed chamber 3). Wood removal and replacement. Wood-borers that require treatment: 1). True powder-post beetle 2). False powder-posts 3). Anobiids Other than the three beetles listed above, treatment, more often than not, will not be necessary. Most of the damage done to homes is by one of the three listed here. Other wood-borers that will not (usually) require treatment are; Metallic, flat-headed, round-headed, long-horned beetles in the families buprestidae and Cerambycidae. These beetles will normally only attack living trees and it is common to encounter these beetles emerging from lumber in new construction. The drying process of new wood does not favor new infestation of these listed and they will emerge, drop-out and die. |
Re-infesting beetles- Lyctid beetles (true powder-post beetles) Anobiid beetles (furniture or deathwatch beetle) Old house borer (mostly Mid-atlantic states) Lyctids only attack hardwood (oak, hickory, ash, walnut or mahogany) because of its high starch content. The beetle prefers dry wood (less than 10% moisture content). The reason for all the fine yellowish powder is that this beetle cannot digest the wood but instead will utilize only the starch as the wood passes through its system and leaves its system in a fine powdery mess, hence the name. This is a small reddish brown to black beetle that is under 1/3 inch in length. Anobiids will attack both hard and softwoods. This beetle prefers wood with more moisture (more than 14% moisture content). Unlike lyctids, this beetle does digest cellulose. This beetle is also reddish brown to dark brown and adults are around 1/3 of an inch in length. There are a number of species of anobiids, however, the deathwatch beetle is the most commonly encountered beetle and is normally found in poorly ventilated crawlspaces. If you encounter fine powder with tiny pellets sifting from floor or rim joists in a crawlspace, then this beetle is likely the culprit. Old house borers are typically found in the eastern united states. We have only stumbled upon these guys two times so we are in no position to address these guys in detail. False power-post beetles will attack mostly hardwoods but some species will attack softwoods. They rarely attack or re-infest seasoned (dry) wood. These guys are also reddish-brown to black. The frass from this beetle is easy to distinguish from frass of the others listed here because the frass is tightly packed and does not fall out easily. |
Non re-infesting wood borers- Bark beetles- attack new (or freshly fallen) trees at the bark/wood interface separating the bark and killing the tree. Small beetle that eventually dies when the wood becomes seasoned. Ambrosia beetles- another beetle that you need not be worried about. You can easily identify the evidence of this little guy because the exit/entry holes will be stained blue (a fungus that the beetle fed upon). Evidence of this guy can often be found in attics or crawlspaces. Attacks new softwood and hardwoods. Dies out in seasoned wood. Bostrichid beetles (false power-post beetle)- this guy is placed in the non re-infesting category, however, this beetle can (rarely) re-infest. Some species attack both hardwoods and softwoods but mainly hardwoods. These guys are roughly 1/4 inch in length and are dark brown, or reddish-brown to black (depending upon the species). Others include: round-headed borers, flat-headed borers, horntails (woodwasp). These beetles normally attack living trees only. These beetles can often be found emerging from wood in new construction (vigas), and firewood that is brought into the home just prior to burning. The drying process of the wood is not favorable to these beetles, therefore, they emerge and die. Treatment is normally not necessary for non re-infesting wood boring beetles beetles. Infested lumber must be kiln dried (oven) before it is used in construction. |
