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how to kill powder post beetles in barn beam

drugdoc
13 years ago

We recently purchased a 100 year old barn beam (white oak) to use for a mantle that shows signs of powder post beetles. The beam will need to be cleaned and finished before we install it in our new house this fall. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of the beetles? If anyone has further suggestions on the best way to clean and finish the beam, those would be appreciated too.

Thanks

Comments (9)

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago

    You can build a 'hot box' using foil faced insulation panels and heat the beam up.
    If it is sealed and insulated well enough even a few hundred watts of light bulbs will raise the temperature high enough.

    I do not remember the required temperature to kill powder post beetles, but is is not that high.

    The heat may cause some additional checking and splitting of the wood, more so if you allow the moisture released to escape while the wood is hot and dry.

    If the hot box it is well sealed the moisture will move back into the wood as it cools off leaving minimal change.

    The whole process will take many days of heating and cooling.

  • Jon1270
    13 years ago

    130F is the temp usually mentioned to kill PPB. That's the wood temperature, not the air temperature. If you're using a relatively small heat source like several light bulbs, it will take quite a while to heat a beam several inches thick -- days, not hours.

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago

    Long and slow will help reduce checking in the wood.

    If you go to fast the outside dries faster than the inside of the wood, shrinks, and then checks over the wetter and larger core of the wood.

  • drugdoc
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Do any of you have experience with a product called Bora-Care?

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago

    The problem with powder post beetles is getting the insecticide into the wood to the beetles.

    Fumigation techniques are usually required.

  • jas.dou
    13 years ago

    Hi,
    The page below has a lot of info about powderpost beetles, boracare and other products.
    It will definitely help.
    Good Luck
    jason

    Here is a link that might be useful: powderpost beetles

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago

    "The page below has a lot of info about powderpost beetles, boracare and other products.
    It will definitely help. "

    Only if you want to soak the entire timber in Boracare, then deal with trying to dry it out using a hot box or a LONG time.

    One year per inch of wood thickness is used for green wood to air-dry. After Boracare treating the timber ("penetrates up to 2 inches) it would not be as wet as green wood, but it would still take significant time to dry, and likely experience checking and splitting from the differential expansion.

    Or you can just heat it up and kill the beetles (as is done when kiln drying wood).

    Exterminators love using pesticides.

    When all you own is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

  • cynandjon
    13 years ago

    We used bora care on our poles and beams. IT worked great!