Question
QUESTION: Jack,

I have reclaimed pine (short leaf) in my home for flooring (not the best, but that is another topic).  The wood had insect damage when we installed it and was told that the wood was clean.  Now, I am have found 2 places were some insect seems to have bored open holes in the flooring and the holes look like 1/8" diameter.  I am assuming this is the Souther Pine Beetle.  If I am right, what can I do to kill these insects?  I have a wood frame home (pine).  The pine flooring was installed on top of 3/4" plywood, then felt paper, the 1/2" plywood and finally the floor.  Who should I call?  What should I do?  I am very concerned.

Thanks,
Mark

ANSWER: Mark,

If you are finding fine boring dust around the exit holes it is probably a powderpost beetle rather than a bark beetle like the southern pine beetle. Bark beetles are not found in milled lumber. How old is the floor? Do you find fresh boring dust? Except for possible floor damage there's probably not much to be concerned about regarding other wood in the house because these beetles require fairly unseasoned wood. Here's an article about powderpost beetles in general http://www.livingwithbugs.com/powderpost_beetles.html that may be useful.

Post a follow up with answers to my questions and I'll help you figure this out.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jack,

Yes there is fine dust/power in the holes.  The lumber comes from a World War II era warehouse and was milled about 5 years ago.  What exactly is unseasoned wood.  I looked at the articles.  What will happen with these insects?  Will the search for more wood?  Will the just die?  What should I do and/or look for?  The flooring is finished but there are cracks between some joints in the floor.  Can they get back in these cracks?  What will the try to do after they exit?  I just want to make sure that I am doing all that I can.

Thanks,
Mark

Answer
Wood begins to season as soon as the tree is cut. The wood fibers lose water and the starch content begins to degrade. The wood becomes less and less suitable for most insects because they need starch and moisture. The only insects that can use dry, low starch wood are termites because they can utilize cellulose (the stuff the makes wood strong) directly.

Wood from WW II is probably not suitable for powderpost beetles so I doubt that there is an active infestation, so this should be good news. What I think may be going on is you are seeing boring dust from a long ago infestation that has been uncovered by the recent milling. This is fairly common when old wood is milled and powderpost beetle powder starts to sift out of the newly uncovered holes.

To test this you might mark all the existing holes with a grease pencil and see if any new holes appear. My guess is you won't get any new holes. This may take some time but so long as you are not seeing new holes there's no additional damage being done.

I hope this is useful (and makes sense).

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com