question about powder post beetle.

[RobS.]

Do ppb's ever just go away on their own? I have some pecan lumber that showed the tell tale signs of ppb. I moved it back in October to clean it up and see exactly what I had. It's been cut and stacked for 30 years. Since moving it I have seen no more signs of bugs. Just wondering if they left or are they dormant for the winter. Given how warm this winter has been I would expect them to still be busy if they are present.
I would like to sell the lumber but don't want to pass ppb's on to someone else and really don't want to have to pay to take it to a kiln.

 

[Rwe2156]

I think they do but others more knowledgeable may disagree.

 

[Graywolf]

Robert, as long as you are up front with your customer then you should be fine.

 

[Skymaster]

Are they in both sides? I might be able to use it for urns if i can get one side good

 

[Jeff]

Pecan = hickory species. They don't hang around for 30 years either. You probably saw the dust and remnants of their work from a long time ago.

Since moving it I have seen no more signs of bugs.

PPBs don't develop in wood with a moisture content below 15% so you're probably good other than the tiny shot holes left in the wood where the adults emerged.

 

[chris_goris]

firewood.

 

[Jeff]

Just curious-why do you recommend firewood as a solution? After 30 years there probably is no active infestation in the wood today and otherwise it is still probably good wood to use.

firewood.

 

[Roy G]

The bugs may be gone but they may have tunneled through the wood making it not very good for furniture. I would cut open some representative pieces to see how bad the damage is.

Roy G

 

[Berta]

The bugs may be gone but they may have tunneled through the wood making it not very good for furniture. I would cut open some representative pieces to see how bad the damage is.

Roy G

Yeah but does it look cool? I love cut offs of odd looking pieces for some of my work.

 

[Jeff]

I've never seen a board with massive damage and tunnels from ppbs. They aren't huge tunnels that are excavated within the wood. The adults are only 1/32-1/16" in diameter. Kind of reminds me of wormy chestnut which used to be popular for woodworking.

tag based on what is being viewed. We filter the output of wp_title() a bit - see agriflex_filter_wp_title() in functions.php. --> <title> Lyctid Powderpost Beetles: Suggestions for Control - Insects in the City

citybugs.tamu.edu

 

[Graywolf]

I have seen massive damage from them. However, this was yellow pine and not a hard fruitwood. So I’d say you need to cut into the wood to really know.