K
Kensington2 Jan 2022 21:10Dear forum members,
First of all, I wish you a happy new year!
As part of my interior planning, I have the option to receive an antique family heirloom in the form of a cabinet from the early 19th century, which I am emotionally attached to. Unfortunately, this cabinet has been stored for several years in a house from the late 19th century, where powderpost beetles have infested the wooden floorboards. (A renovation of the floorboards is not planned due to the effort involved.)
Now I am considering declining the gift because I am worried about the transfer of powderpost beetles #through the cabinet# to our house. Heating the cabinet to eliminate possible larvae seems to me the only alternative.
By the way, can powderpost beetles be transferred via shoe soles or clothing after visiting an infested house?
Are my concerns exaggerated?
Thank you for your input!
First of all, I wish you a happy new year!
As part of my interior planning, I have the option to receive an antique family heirloom in the form of a cabinet from the early 19th century, which I am emotionally attached to. Unfortunately, this cabinet has been stored for several years in a house from the late 19th century, where powderpost beetles have infested the wooden floorboards. (A renovation of the floorboards is not planned due to the effort involved.)
Now I am considering declining the gift because I am worried about the transfer of powderpost beetles #through the cabinet# to our house. Heating the cabinet to eliminate possible larvae seems to me the only alternative.
By the way, can powderpost beetles be transferred via shoe soles or clothing after visiting an infested house?
Are my concerns exaggerated?
Thank you for your input!
M
Myrna_Loy2 Jan 2022 22:05Woodworm or wood boring beetle?
Well, kind of both. Theoretically, you can bring in both types through a piece of furniture, but the wood boring beetle, also known as woodworm, only infests wood that is stored damp, cool, and in the dark. Normally heated living spaces result in wood moisture levels where the larvae cannot survive. You cannot bring these pests inside on shoes or similar. The beetle only flies briefly in early summer and searches for suitable wood in the right location to lay its eggs, usually within a small radius.
A heat treatment of the piece of furniture should solve the problem.
Well, kind of both. Theoretically, you can bring in both types through a piece of furniture, but the wood boring beetle, also known as woodworm, only infests wood that is stored damp, cool, and in the dark. Normally heated living spaces result in wood moisture levels where the larvae cannot survive. You cannot bring these pests inside on shoes or similar. The beetle only flies briefly in early summer and searches for suitable wood in the right location to lay its eggs, usually within a small radius.
A heat treatment of the piece of furniture should solve the problem.
K
Kensington3 Jan 2022 21:20Hello Myrna Loy,
thank you, that already helps me. By the way, it really is the common woodlouse. The house has always been occupied and heated, so an infestation of the floorboards with powderpost beetles would not fit anyway.
thank you, that already helps me. By the way, it really is the common woodlouse. The house has always been occupied and heated, so an infestation of the floorboards with powderpost beetles would not fit anyway.
M
Myrna_Loy3 Jan 2022 21:41Kensington schrieb:
Hello Myrna_Loy,
thank you, that already helps me a lot. By the way, it really is the common furniture beetle. The house has always been occupied and heated, so an infestation of the floorboards by powderpost beetles doesn't really fit. However, the common furniture beetle only infests softwood and almost exclusively the sapwood. This is not typical furniture wood. At most it occurs as sapwood, but even that is very rare. They prefer structural timber.
K
Kensington7 Jan 2022 11:56Thank you, Myrna Loy, that is reassuring!
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