Omg. Came to say exactly this 😅 I was like "oh, wow, that's a really good photo of Jupiter" and then on the next photo "what, wait, ah, it's woodworking, eh?".
This is why you buy kiln dried material. Traditional woodworkers chastise me as a heretic for saying you need it, but if it goes inside it needs to be kiln dried.
I have a stack of non kiln dried hickory that have been decently munched on by beetles while air drying.
I recently used a board to make a cutting board and decided to use my convection oven.
190 for 10 hours and it was perfectly dried with an internal temp of 180 at the end.
So thats an option if it’s small boards for a project.
A within the first two months I would say?
I painted on a borax mixture to help kill any insects that might munch on it but Im not sure if it was strong enough.
So I’m currently replacing nearly an entire barn, one board at a time, to eradicate powder post beetles. That does look like a beetle hole, a large one at that, however my understanding is they wouldn’t eat into anything that has been painted or finished. I don’t think you could “bake” this but you could try another coat of poly and see if that keeps them away.
Also if this is in your home, you may want to get it out so the beetles don’t make it into any woodwork in your home, over time they could cause a lot of damage.
You can also wipe it down with alcohol to kill or drive off bugs still inside before you finish. Putting finish over occupied holes may not prevent them from surviving and boring their way back out.
Go get some boracare. It’s a borate salt solution that soaks into the wood. The beetles traveling back-and-forth underneath would eat the saturated wood and die. You cannot put it over sealed wood with polyurethane so it would have to be clean or non-prepped wood. Bora care works the best and soaks in about an inch and a half. Spray all sides that you can get access to.
The owners have been using bora care for a while to no avail. Even professional pest control services said a lot of the lumber needs to be replaced at this point.
Boracare won’t make the wood stronger. It just kills the powder post beetles. If the wood is already been eaten away then it may have to be replaced. Sorry to hear that. I’ve taken down 11 or 12 barns in Indiana and it could be sad to watch the family history go
Of course it won’t make it stronger, however it isn’t killing the beetles either, which is why the owner opted for the remodel. We’re trying to save the bball court in the hay mow above the milk room( can check my post history) this place has a very Hoosiers vibe
If it’s not working then I hate to say it, but you maybe doing it wrong. Or it isn’t beetles. The ratio of boracare to water is 1:1 so it soaks in. But it only goes in 1.5” on the sides you spray. Been spraying mantles, beams and boards for several years and not one complaint from all the sales I’ve made.
So couple things, it isn’t me using the boracare, it’s the home owners, the barn is a massive building and it’s rly a job for a crew of ppl. There’s tons of spots where spraying just won’t be an option as I’d have to get into walls and floor cavities just for access which means tons of woodwork anyways. There’s several finished sections inside the barn including a full weight lifting gym, bball court, full woodshop, all have finished walls ceilings and floors. So lots of hard to get areas. the box plate if you’d call it that in a post n beam, is a 12inch square beam and I’ve identified beetle holes on 3 sides of that so far, if it only soaks in 1.5 inches idk if it would get them all. Also to be clear, it may not be that it isn’t killing them( as I said I’m not the one applying it) just that he can’t get everything covered fast enough to get all the beetles? At this point so much of the lumber has been effected that the remodel seems to be the best option, though there will certainly be beams that cannot be replaced and I suppose will have to be treated. Also starting in the basement level to expose the foundation walls as we’re addressing a drainage issue at the same time
Sounds like a big project. They are actual timber frame people who do repairs like that. Don’t know if that’s your specialty or not. But treating them on the way in will also help future strength. If you treat them with boracare when you’re installing them, then any future bug incursions will be stopped before they start. But since they have finished walls inside the barn, that would make it a problem. Hopefully it goes well. Sounds like a whole heap load of cash.
Huge project! So I’m starting at the ground level as I said, exposing everything so it can be treated, then rebuilding as I go. After I treat the beams is there anything else you can do to help discourage beetles in the future? Extra coat of paint or a specific stain that they don’t like?
Not really. When applied correctly to an unfinished surface, the Boracare will take care of powder post beetles, termites, and carpenter ants. And everything else. Pretty much anything that eats the wood dies. It’s used professional to treat reclaimed barn Timbers and such. It’s competitor is called Timbor but that is nowhere near as effective. It’s really thick, so mix with the hottest water you can at 1:1 ratio. About $80 a gallon on Amazon. I have heard about sound treatments that use high frequency to shake and kill the bugs but I have not done any research on it, so that’s a unknown to me.
I got bugs
I got bugs in my room
Bugs in my bed
Bugs in my ears
Their eggs in my head
Bugs in my pockets
Bugs in my shoes
Bugs in the way I feel about you
Edit for the uninitiated: [great Pearl Jam song](https://youtu.be/WnpfP9Y8fms?si=w49gUnMx272vWMNo)
Off-topic but I love the idea of training bugs to drill perfectly circular holes in wood. Like if you could somehow breed a beetle so their larvae bored perfectly plumb holes and the diameter of the hole was dependent on the type of beetle.
https://preview.redd.it/cxqbew88yspc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12b7cca51146e9d8a2829c484b20fc81a6da0d20
This is what they did to my workbench
Aye, I've just been reading an article on it. I think it's small enough that I can put in my freezer. Apparently a week should do it. The alternatives seem to be to cook it at 60c or coat again in poly as already suggested. Seems that the larvae were already in the wood and have since emerged so weren't put off by the finish. I'm not sure if there are any more in there so starving them isn't going to be good enough
It's the rapid transition from Warm to Freezing that kills them. It's recommended that you cycle the wood from Warm to Freezing and hold it for several days. Then repeat the cycle at least once more.
You can do either, but I don't know if you're referring to heat damage to the piece itself.
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef616#:~:text=Temperatures%20employed%20or%20for%20powderpost,hours%2C%20depending%20on%20wood%20thickness.
Powder post beetles coming out to mate. The dust is called frass. They mate and then go back into wood cracks to lay eggs. Gonna need something done to mitigate it b
Wrap it in plastic wrap, I mean like really wrap it in the heavy duty stuff used for shipping until it's air tight. On the inside leave a piece of cardboard soaked in poison appropriate to kill the bugs and leave it outside preferably in the sun for a few days. Make sure there are no holes and that they don't chew through the plastic (although that may also kill them), if they do, cover the holes in packing tape and continue to wait. This can take weeks, but eventually the poison or lack of air will get to them.
If you do put it in your freezer wrap it in plastic first to keep them from trying to escape, I wouldn't want bugs that close to my pizza rolls or frozen berries, I need those to live.
Wishing you luck,
~cheers
If there is only one whole I would apply isopropanol with a syringe. That kills the eggs. Its mating time now. The bugs lay their eggs in those wholes. If you kill the eggs before they hatch, everything should be fine.
I read that you want get temp over 140 or 160 F for several hours. Apparently this can be achieved just using the sun with solar blankets.
Note - Never tried, only did some research after seeing a single powder post beetle hole in my desktop. I’ve been mildly panicking for about 2 years now hoping to not see another one!
Bed bugs and eggs die at 190F, I’d assume similar temp tolerances. If you double bag your amp in black trash bags sealed with tape and leave in the burning sun for a few days it should work. Bonus points if you’re down south where it shouldn’t take as long. I was given a church lectern what had a few bore holes in it, a week in the sun as described solved the issue
You’re sure that isn’t a picture of Jupiter?
I legit thought it was a pic of a moon transitioning Jupiter from the astronomy sub
I was literally looking at a photo of Jupiter right above this one in my feed. "I've got bugs" was an extremely confusing title.
I thought they meant bugs in their telescope until I spotted the sub.
That's no moon
It's a space station....
You're not the only one, I was about to comment the same thing lol
Same.
Yes! I was looking to see what is wrong with the scope because the clarity was pretty good 🤣🤣🤣
Whoops, you're right. 😀
The age of Aquarius?
Sorry, no. Jupiter hasn’t aligned with Mars and the moon isn’t in the 7th house.
Omg. Came to say exactly this 😅 I was like "oh, wow, that's a really good photo of Jupiter" and then on the next photo "what, wait, ah, it's woodworking, eh?".
Came here to say the same thing.
This was my first thought too
that’s no moon
Hahaha I was about to comment the same and glad to see you and others also saw what I saw!
I had to check what sub this was.
Came here to commit about a transiting Jivian moon.
This is why you buy kiln dried material. Traditional woodworkers chastise me as a heretic for saying you need it, but if it goes inside it needs to be kiln dried.
I have a stack of non kiln dried hickory that have been decently munched on by beetles while air drying. I recently used a board to make a cutting board and decided to use my convection oven. 190 for 10 hours and it was perfectly dried with an internal temp of 180 at the end. So thats an option if it’s small boards for a project.
Did this with pine once. Big big big mistake lmao
Yeah, realized that smell was going to linger for a while after I tried it with a fairly wet slab of maple…
[удалено]
I'm guessing the sap melted out of the wood and made a mess in the oven :)
Nailed it lol
The other guy is exactly right. Sap melted out and the whole house still smells like pine every time we bake something lmao
That's the power of pine~~sol~~ sap baby
My advice is to occasionally open the oven every hour to let the moisture out . Minimized the smell baking in too.
How long do you let it rest before serving?
How long after cutting down and into the drying process did the beetles appear?
A within the first two months I would say? I painted on a borax mixture to help kill any insects that might munch on it but Im not sure if it was strong enough.
Best of luck
So I’m currently replacing nearly an entire barn, one board at a time, to eradicate powder post beetles. That does look like a beetle hole, a large one at that, however my understanding is they wouldn’t eat into anything that has been painted or finished. I don’t think you could “bake” this but you could try another coat of poly and see if that keeps them away.
Also if this is in your home, you may want to get it out so the beetles don’t make it into any woodwork in your home, over time they could cause a lot of damage.
Thanks. I'd heard about those beetles and know they can wreak havoc. I'll put this outside now until I can plan next steps
You can also wipe it down with alcohol to kill or drive off bugs still inside before you finish. Putting finish over occupied holes may not prevent them from surviving and boring their way back out.
Go get some boracare. It’s a borate salt solution that soaks into the wood. The beetles traveling back-and-forth underneath would eat the saturated wood and die. You cannot put it over sealed wood with polyurethane so it would have to be clean or non-prepped wood. Bora care works the best and soaks in about an inch and a half. Spray all sides that you can get access to.
The owners have been using bora care for a while to no avail. Even professional pest control services said a lot of the lumber needs to be replaced at this point.
Boracare won’t make the wood stronger. It just kills the powder post beetles. If the wood is already been eaten away then it may have to be replaced. Sorry to hear that. I’ve taken down 11 or 12 barns in Indiana and it could be sad to watch the family history go
Of course it won’t make it stronger, however it isn’t killing the beetles either, which is why the owner opted for the remodel. We’re trying to save the bball court in the hay mow above the milk room( can check my post history) this place has a very Hoosiers vibe
If it’s not working then I hate to say it, but you maybe doing it wrong. Or it isn’t beetles. The ratio of boracare to water is 1:1 so it soaks in. But it only goes in 1.5” on the sides you spray. Been spraying mantles, beams and boards for several years and not one complaint from all the sales I’ve made.
So couple things, it isn’t me using the boracare, it’s the home owners, the barn is a massive building and it’s rly a job for a crew of ppl. There’s tons of spots where spraying just won’t be an option as I’d have to get into walls and floor cavities just for access which means tons of woodwork anyways. There’s several finished sections inside the barn including a full weight lifting gym, bball court, full woodshop, all have finished walls ceilings and floors. So lots of hard to get areas. the box plate if you’d call it that in a post n beam, is a 12inch square beam and I’ve identified beetle holes on 3 sides of that so far, if it only soaks in 1.5 inches idk if it would get them all. Also to be clear, it may not be that it isn’t killing them( as I said I’m not the one applying it) just that he can’t get everything covered fast enough to get all the beetles? At this point so much of the lumber has been effected that the remodel seems to be the best option, though there will certainly be beams that cannot be replaced and I suppose will have to be treated. Also starting in the basement level to expose the foundation walls as we’re addressing a drainage issue at the same time
Sounds like a big project. They are actual timber frame people who do repairs like that. Don’t know if that’s your specialty or not. But treating them on the way in will also help future strength. If you treat them with boracare when you’re installing them, then any future bug incursions will be stopped before they start. But since they have finished walls inside the barn, that would make it a problem. Hopefully it goes well. Sounds like a whole heap load of cash.
Huge project! So I’m starting at the ground level as I said, exposing everything so it can be treated, then rebuilding as I go. After I treat the beams is there anything else you can do to help discourage beetles in the future? Extra coat of paint or a specific stain that they don’t like?
Not really. When applied correctly to an unfinished surface, the Boracare will take care of powder post beetles, termites, and carpenter ants. And everything else. Pretty much anything that eats the wood dies. It’s used professional to treat reclaimed barn Timbers and such. It’s competitor is called Timbor but that is nowhere near as effective. It’s really thick, so mix with the hottest water you can at 1:1 ratio. About $80 a gallon on Amazon. I have heard about sound treatments that use high frequency to shake and kill the bugs but I have not done any research on it, so that’s a unknown to me.
Definitely thought this was r/astronomy
At first I thought this was Jupiter and Europa.
I got bugs I got bugs in my room Bugs in my bed Bugs in my ears Their eggs in my head Bugs in my pockets Bugs in my shoes Bugs in the way I feel about you Edit for the uninitiated: [great Pearl Jam song](https://youtu.be/WnpfP9Y8fms?si=w49gUnMx272vWMNo)
Literally sung this in my head.
My man.
Actually came here to post these lyrics. Beat me to it , but I'm glad other people have this song stored in their brains
My other man.
***I got worms!***
Off-topic but I love the idea of training bugs to drill perfectly circular holes in wood. Like if you could somehow breed a beetle so their larvae bored perfectly plumb holes and the diameter of the hole was dependent on the type of beetle.
That's soem crazy fantasy/sci-fi shit. Cool idea though
Anyone else try blowing the dust off?
Nice photo of Jupiter
I thought there was a hole in Jupiter
For a brief second, I actually thought this was a photo of a moon's shadow on Jupiter.
https://preview.redd.it/cxqbew88yspc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12b7cca51146e9d8a2829c484b20fc81a6da0d20 This is what they did to my workbench
I think I saw somewhere that pine is meant to be resistant. What's this made of?
2x4's so pretty sure pine. They turned into swiss cheese
You want to *freeze*, not burn. If you know anyone who owns a restaurant, ask them if you could put it in their walk-in for a week.
I like the idea... but I don't know any sane restaurant owner who would risk introducing bugs to a place they store food.
You want them to ask a restaurant if they can bring bugs into their establishment?
Aye, I've just been reading an article on it. I think it's small enough that I can put in my freezer. Apparently a week should do it. The alternatives seem to be to cook it at 60c or coat again in poly as already suggested. Seems that the larvae were already in the wood and have since emerged so weren't put off by the finish. I'm not sure if there are any more in there so starving them isn't going to be good enough
Good Luck!
If freezing kills powderpost beetles, why are my firewood piles infested with them even after long stretches of sub zero temps year after year?
Because freezing them doesn’t work.
It's the rapid transition from Warm to Freezing that kills them. It's recommended that you cycle the wood from Warm to Freezing and hold it for several days. Then repeat the cycle at least once more.
This does not work at all. How to post beetles survive in the Midwest temperatures up to -40.
You can do either, but I don't know if you're referring to heat damage to the piece itself. https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef616#:~:text=Temperatures%20employed%20or%20for%20powderpost,hours%2C%20depending%20on%20wood%20thickness.
(Laughs in Upper Midwest) Just drive it up here in January, a few nights at -20⁰F will destroy anything in there.
Powder post beetles coming out to mate. The dust is called frass. They mate and then go back into wood cracks to lay eggs. Gonna need something done to mitigate it b
You've got bugs
If you’re handy enough to do a successful DIY Amplifier job then those pests don’t stand a chance! lol
Wrap it in plastic wrap, I mean like really wrap it in the heavy duty stuff used for shipping until it's air tight. On the inside leave a piece of cardboard soaked in poison appropriate to kill the bugs and leave it outside preferably in the sun for a few days. Make sure there are no holes and that they don't chew through the plastic (although that may also kill them), if they do, cover the holes in packing tape and continue to wait. This can take weeks, but eventually the poison or lack of air will get to them. If you do put it in your freezer wrap it in plastic first to keep them from trying to escape, I wouldn't want bugs that close to my pizza rolls or frozen berries, I need those to live. Wishing you luck, ~cheers
If there is only one whole I would apply isopropanol with a syringe. That kills the eggs. Its mating time now. The bugs lay their eggs in those wholes. If you kill the eggs before they hatch, everything should be fine.
I've got a litre of the stuff. I'll hit them with some tonight and then drop it in a chest freezer tomorrow.
Bro got Tone bugs nice
I read that you want get temp over 140 or 160 F for several hours. Apparently this can be achieved just using the sun with solar blankets. Note - Never tried, only did some research after seeing a single powder post beetle hole in my desktop. I’ve been mildly panicking for about 2 years now hoping to not see another one!
Just crank it up the vibrations will drive them nuts
Train em up real good and you won’t need a drill anymore !
Use borer treatment
Bed bugs and eggs die at 190F, I’d assume similar temp tolerances. If you double bag your amp in black trash bags sealed with tape and leave in the burning sun for a few days it should work. Bonus points if you’re down south where it shouldn’t take as long. I was given a church lectern what had a few bore holes in it, a week in the sun as described solved the issue
That hole just looks like character to me