Turning and wood-eating insects

[awldune]

I guess this is my first post here, but I have been reading the forums here for a while.

I've been turning for about a year now, and my garage has been filling up with shavings and with green wood.

I noticed recently that some of my wood has woodworms in it. I have encountered tracks in old wood before, but these worms were still in the wood.

Should I worry about woodworms (powderpost beetle larvae?) infesting my home, or the rest of my wood stash?

Also, can shavings on my garage floor attract termites or other undesirables into the house?

Thanks,
Sam

 

[awldune]

Any comments would appreciated.

I guess my real questions are:

1. Should I avoid storing green wood in the garage due to worms/beetles?

2. Should I avoid having a lot of shavings on the garage floor due to termites or other nasties?

Thanks,
Sam

 

[Sealeveler]

I found some in some wood in the garage and bagged it with plenty of malathion,after a year no new sign of dust.Most here recommend a trip to a kiln.
Tony

 

[awldune]

Thanks for your reply!

What sort of businesses will let you use their kiln? I didn't know this was a possibility for amateurs.

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Contact Scott Smith (scsmith42). If he does not have room in his kiln, he might know someone who does. Good luck.

Steve H.

 

[anna_seth]

I don't think there is a better place to store your green woods than on the garage because it is far away from the other wood furniture. Wood worms tend to transfer from one wood to another, so unless you want your wood furniture infested, keep them away from the infested green wood. I am not really sure if the shavings can attract wood worms because what bugs really want is to lay their eggs on woods that are mostly unvarnished. The best way to treat wood worms is through chemical insecticides. There are also electrical insect killers that you can place on your garage to prevent bugs and insects to breed in. -Anne

 

[awldune]

Thanks Anne.

I threw out the piece that was known to be infested and I've been looking out for any other signs of activity. Looks clear so far.

When I asked about storing my green wood somewhere else, I was thinking of putting it outside on a rack or something to keep it off the ground.

So far I have only had worms in some junk branches I cut, so it hasn't been worthwhile to try to salvage anything through a kiln or chemical treatments.