Wood Borer
A Quick Guide to the Wood Borer Insect
Living trees or seasoned wood used in houses; both types of lumber of different varieties have a particular enemy called the wood borer. An insect that uses wood as its single menu item, this beetle is one that can cause serious trouble when found in the home.
The wood borer is a beetle of several different types. There are those which attack living trees and those which feast upon dry timber; either one can produce a great deal of damage. The most common species of this insect are the Anobiid, the Lyctid and the Bostrichid beetles.
The Anobiid wood borer is more commonly known as the deathwatch beetle. The name was acquired during Medieval times; so called because the beetle was often heard tapping its head on wood during the night, audible to those sitting up with sick or dying family members. The tapping is actually the beetle’s means of communications with others of its species. These wood borer insects can be found in old, soft woods in homes that may be under some form of decay. Timbers, beams and girders are popular areas of infestation, although furniture and books have also seen evidence of this pest. The deathwatch beetle can be accurately identified through its frass, or waste eliminations, which are palletized; a feature unique to this insect.
Powderpost beetles are a member of the Lyctid family. They are called powderpost because the larvae of these beetles leave a fine, powdery frass behind in their tunnels. This type of wood borer attacks hardwoods such as oak, hickory and mahogany; ideal for laying eggs into the pores of the wood. The constitution of the beetles also requires the dryness of these hardwoods. Their presence may be noted in door and window frames, flooring, furniture and wall paneling; however, they do not enter households through these mediums. Rather, the wood borer will be most likely be introduced through firewood or furniture items, from which the adult winged beetle can emerge to lay eggs elsewhere in the home.
Bostrichid beetles are somewhat similar to the powderpost, giving them the nickname of “false powderpost” insects. The larvae of this species also leave powdery frass in their tunnels, but it will be a coarse texture instead of the fine consistency familiar to the powderpost. Eggs of the Bostrichid beetles are deposited in fine cracks of tunnels bored by the female.
These beetles are capable of creating a great deal of damage to the wood they choose to inhabit. Prevention is key when possible; otherwise, the only recourse if infestation if found is to either use specific insecticides for the type of wood borer or, when possible, to destroy the wood they have infested and prevent further damage.