Timber Borers • Pest Control Advice • Consumer Guide

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Pest Control - Timber Borers - Anobium & Lyctus Borers

Timber borers can be real pests ....


	A variety of borers will attack a range of timbers - borers found in living trees or freshly felled timber - in moist timbers - borers which attack dry seasoned wood, such as, timber flooring, structural and decorative timbers, and furniture, whereby steadily increasing intensity of infestation may occur. Baltic pine floorboards - commonplace in older homes - Anobium Borers do severe damage to Baltic pine timber flooring - eventually leading to total collapse and need for replacement of all such flooring timbers - prevention early on is much cheaper than replacement in the long term. Life Cycle - an adult female borer beetle lays her eggs in susceptible timbers - the eggs hatch as a grub or larvae to feed on the starch content of the timber - the borer larvae will eat along the timber grain creating a network of tunnels - when the larvae is fully-grown it will pupate over a long period of time to become an adult beetle - the adult exits the timber through a hole made in the timber surface - an emerging female adult repeats the life cycle - further intensifying the infestation and timber damage. Identification - the size of exit holes - texture of dust "frass" emitted - enables a pest control timber borer expert to identify the species of timber borer and potential to cause to susceptible timber damage.

Anobium borers attack Baltic Pine FURNITURE & Flooring


			Anobium borer also called Furniture Beetles or Anobium punctatum often cause severe damage to Baltic pine flooring timbers - particularly in older houses with damp flooring timbers and poor ventilation or moisture control problems in subfloor area. Antique and other furniture various timber types are susceptible to Anobium borer damage infestation - sometimes years after the furniture has been acquired - you see small exit holes and accompanying dust "frass" emitted from the exit holes in the timber furniture.

Pest Control: Anobium borers in Baltic Flooring


	In severe cases the removal and replacement of all damaged and infested timber with highly resistant or chemically treated timbers or particle board - can be a very expensive - also may need improvements in ventilation and moisture control in subfloor areas. In moderate infestations the application of a registered insecticide to the underside of the flooring on an annual basis over thge 3 year period of the life cycle of the Anobium borer. Recommend Permethrin insecticide for timber borer control due to its low toxicity profile and it's ability to penetrate into the timber grain - Permethrin is a based on the natural of the pyrethrum plant - used to eradicate the adult beetle as it emerges from inside the timber. It is essential that such furniture be fumigated in a special fumigation chamber. The fumigation gas used will penetrate the timber and kill all insect life therein. Most furniture and foodstuffs for import/export into/out of the country are fumigated in this way. The cost of such fumigation is fairly inexpensive provided a fumigation chamber is near you, as the delivery costs are separate and usually paid for and organized by the furniture owner. Borers holes found in living trees, fresh logs, moist timbers (not in a building) can be injected with an insecticide specifically registered for this purpose. Such products are available at the larger stores or garden product shops.

Lyctus borers - susceptible Hardwood Timbers


			Lyctus borers eat the sapwood portion of hardwood timbers which are often used as framing timbers in a building or for rustic style furniture - the Lyctus borer is also called the Powder Post Beetle or Lyctus brunneus. Timber Marketing Act - prohibits framing timbers being sold for use in buildings if more than 25 % of perimeter of any cross section with lyctid susceptible sapwood or more than 50 per cent of any face or edge at any cross section comprises lyctid susceptible sapwood. ... more details Structural building timbers - accordingly any damage from lyctus borers to structural timbers of a building should NOT be structurally significant - building timbers purchased with Lyctus Borer damage should be returned. Hardwood furniture can be fumigated using methyl bromide

The cost for Professional Pest Control for anobium borers

The cost for the professional pest control of anobium borers - using professional strength low hazard (non-solvent based) insecticides registered for borer eradication - depends on borer species - size of property - extent of infestation - ease of access - sub-floor - roof void - other nesting sites.

Expect to pay about $250 to $350 p.a. medium size residential premises - commercial and manufacturing premises are quoted upon inspection - highly problematic infestations over wide area may be more expensive.

Service warranty period may vary due to borer pest species - the severity of the infestation - environmental factors that may promote reinfestation - recommend annual treatment over the 3 year life cycle of anobium borers.

Consumer Protection Advice - Pesticide Safety Issues


	Pesticide safety be wary of very cheap prices for borer control - check which pesticides are to be used - do they propose to use the far cheaper, less effective, solvent based pesticides which can be acutely harmful in premises where occupants may suffer from asthmatic or other bronchial ailments. Be careful when selecting a pest controller it's far too easy to get a State Govt WorkCover issued Pest Control Licence and start up a pest control business - using mostly unsupervised trainees who have little knowledge of borer pest species or borer control pesticides .... click here for more details