# bugs in my wood



## backtrax (Jul 8, 2009)

I want to make clocks out of some old found burl wood but it has bugs in it. Does anyone have an idea how to kill these little critters?


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## firefighteremt153 (Jan 25, 2008)

Kiln.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

If it is small enough boards you can do the microwave kiln trick. I don't think your attic is hot enough in Michigan, but I have had luck with dry wood by wrapping in plastic or a bag to keep the bugs in and putting it in the attic for a while in the summer.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Burl with bugs??? 

My home and shop are built from wood. I wouldn't bring the wood any where near my home. It's not a big leap from burl to house framing.

You could do something with heat but there is much more to kiln drying wood than heat.

The only thing that I can think of is to put the burl in a large trash bag followed by a very large bowl. Pour box of baking soda (Arm & Hammer, etc.) into the bowl followed by SLOWLY a pint or so of vinegar. The whole thing will fizzle and generate carbon dioxide. Use the plastic bag to allow the CO2 build up and fill the bag. (CO2 is heavier than air so it will settle to the bottom of the bag and gradually fill the bag. Tie the bag shut and let the whole thing sit for a week. Then do it again. After two weeks all of the critters should be dead.

However, I still wouldn't bring that burl into my home, but that's just me.


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## JoshuaHoffman (Nov 22, 2008)

*bugs in wood*

If you can find someone with a kiln it has been my experience that above 120 degrees you kill most everything. Short of that expense pour lacquer thinner on the wood and leave it outside in an area away from a building and out of the sun. I'm sure there are more tricks, probably ask Daren, he knows city wood which is always full of nice little buggers making unusual patterns across his maple logs. I as well like the bugs in burl wood, in that they make for interesting patterns. Always dry them in advance of working with the inventory or passing it on to another woodworker. Happy hunting.:thumbsup:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

There are many ways to kill critters, all of which have their pros and cons. Since you said "old" I am assuming the wood is dry so the hard part of dealing with burl should over (it's done checking,cracking, moving if was going to) A kiln would be my first choice heat will do the trick, 130 core temp for 6 hours. Like was stated if they are small enough you could nuke them, carefully. They make products like "Timbor" and "Boracare", but I am not a fan of chemicals really if I have to work with the wood and eat the dust too. You could make your own mini solar kiln, sorta like these solar ovens http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/. I would only do this if the wood was dry, I think wet wood would be stressed by a run in the oven. I have drowned bugs before, but this was on wet wood. If your wood is in fact dry then wetting and redrying is a pain. I will still throw it out there just in case anyone else runs across this thread in the future with the same problem in wet wood. I had some burls with bugs. I just filled up a 55 gallon plastic barrel with water and covered and sunk the burls for a couple weeks, no more bugs. Submersion does not hurt fresh wood.

Whatever you do I would do it pretty quick...they may just decide to relocate from your burls into the rest of your wood stash/shop framing.
I have thrown a match to wood before that was too infested, I would rather burn a little than have my whole shed full of inventory ate up.


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## JoshuaHoffman (Nov 22, 2008)

*Bug in my Shed*

Daren has it right and is more articulate then I. Powder Post beetles came into my inventory from some exotica imported and caused havoc for two years. Holes in the sapwood, sawdust on the ground or under some furniture are not a sign that you want to see. Deal with it quickly. Happy hunting. joshau


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## Tha Carpenter (Jun 28, 2009)

Bug killer, spray it everywhere, it had to get into the area of the wood right, spray the area. bug in your wood, thats a PITA! keep wood away from water . period.

good luck!:thumbsup:


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## JoshuaHoffman (Nov 22, 2008)

Bugs do good things too. See attached images of Ambrosia Beetle lumber.


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## Scotsman (Jul 12, 2009)

Kerosene liberally painted on kills most woodworm and bugs .I just did it .take it outside and don't get the mess everywhere good luck.Alistair


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## josundeen (Aug 29, 2017)

*Bugs in Tree Branch*

Hi, 
I wanted to make something my cat could climb up inside my house. While on a hike, I picked up a cool looking branch about 11 feet in length that would do the trick. The branch was lying on a pile of other fallen branches at about 6000 ft altitude. It feels pretty light and possibly mostly dried out given that I could carry it by myself for over a mile. Now that I have it home, I'm not sure if there's a process that I should go through to ensure I'm not also bringing in pests. 

I don't want to use chemicals since my cat will be climbing on it. What else should I do?

Thanks in advance.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If the bugs are tiny better get it far far away from your house until you come up with a solution.


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

josundeen said:


> Hi,
> I wanted to make something my cat could climb up inside my house. While on a hike, I picked up a cool looking branch about 11 feet in length that would do the trick. The branch was lying on a pile of other fallen branches at about 6000 ft altitude. It feels pretty light and possibly mostly dried out given that I could carry it by myself for over a mile. Now that I have it home, I'm not sure if there's a process that I should go through to ensure I'm not also bringing in pests.
> 
> I don't want to use chemicals since my cat will be climbing on it. What else should I do?
> ...


If you want to ask a question like this, you really should start your own thread. Resurrecting an old thread by adding your question at the end just creates confusion.

Sent from my SM-G930R6 using Tapatalk


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## josundeen (Aug 29, 2017)

Thanks, will do.


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## Cowboy18 (Aug 21, 2017)

My Two Cents,


The wood I most often work with is South Texas Mesquite. Bugs are just a fact of life when it comes to Mesquite. The bark, the sap bark and heart wood all contain worms, carpenter ants, scorpions, etc. 


Home Defense sprayed on the bark will kill most everything in the bark and sap bark. Not my favorite solution, it works but I avoid it whenever possible. Because of obvious reasons, who wants to sand wood soaked in poison. I have resorted to this on a few occasions when I absolutely wanted or needed a certain piece of select wood that was heavily infested. If you do this remove as much matieral as you can without sanders or dust producing tools. Using chisel and mallet. By all means wear a good mask. Have a fan blowing all dust away from you as you work. Do I really consider this 100% safe no, Does it work, yes. 


Better but more time consuming method. Remove all bark, grind off 90% - 100% sap bark. Shape the piece, clean out crevices, rough sand with 40 grit. Make a bed of hot coals, Home Made charcoal is ideal, because you can add it as needed without causing a flame. Slow roast the board 3' to 4' over the coals. The heat of the coal bed will dictate how often you flip the boards. Early on when they are really hot, you will turn them more often, as the bed reaches a medium heat add charcoal to maintain rather then increase heat. Thickness of the wood dictates time over the fire, as well as how green the wood is. Thin pieces 3/4" will need to be turned more often, but dry much faster. Listen for the sizzle of boiling sap, that will go away when it is dried and crytalized, that's sorte of a halfway point. Depending on the thickness of the wood I go 1 to 3 hours past the crytalization point. When the piece is dry, you will feel a noticeable difference in it's weight, it will be much lighter. It will also be much harder. It's a hot dirty hands on kind of job, that requires constant attention or you'll warp or burn you're boards. My partner and I usually do it from 6:00pm to 6:00am, because it's damned hot here in Texas and you couldn't work that near a fire in the day time. Alittle country music, something to cook over the coals, and a bottle of Makers Mark, help us suffer through the process.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Put the wood in a tight container or bag and throw in some moth balls. Spraying will only cover the surface but might not soak in to kill the critter. My son had the little beetles in his hardwood flooring. It was a mess to get to bad wood out and new wood installed. Dust everywhere.


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