Powder Post Beetles

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So today I noticed some logs I've been curing in the barn..I even painted latex paint on the ends to slow drying. I noticed tiny holes in the logs and piles of powered saw dust.. I remember someone saying that's powder post beetles.. SO how do I get them out of my logs BEFORE they ruin the wood..OR is it to late?
 
So today I noticed some logs I've been curing in the barn..I even painted latex paint on the ends to slow drying. I noticed tiny holes in the logs and piles of powered saw dust.. I remember someone saying that's powder post beetles.. SO how do I get them out of my logs BEFORE they ruin the wood..OR is it to late?
IMO, its already past. But not ruined.... Just not going to be furniture grade. Treat them, mill them, treat again, use it for utility lumber.

I've lost 2000 bf of Oak and Hickory I milled up but nnever got around to using, but it will get burned eventually.
 
Powder post beetles are horrible critters!
We have run a sawmill business for 35 years and have provided PPBs with a whole lot of food!
I use a lot of heat to kill 'em, it's got to be over 140 (all the way to the center of the wood) for several hours, and it will kill 'em in all stages of their life cycle.
Never tried any chemical solutions, most of our research on that has indicated it's not as effective as heat, plus I like the heat because it grows on trees!
Our "kiln" is a 9'x20' room with a used woodstove that we run for all it's worth, we can dry 2,500 board feet of fresh cut green lumber down to 6-8% moisture in 2 weeks
If you attempt to dry your wood in any kind of natural/outdoor/ air-dry environment, you might as well plan on feeding them nasty buggers.
 
Powder post beetles are horrible critters!
We have run a sawmill business for 35 years and have provided PPBs with a whole lot of food!
I use a lot of heat to kill 'em, it's got to be over 140 (all the way to the center of the wood) for several hours, and it will kill 'em in all stages of their life cycle.
Never tried any chemical solutions, most of our research on that has indicated it's not as effective as heat, plus I like the heat because it grows on trees!
Our "kiln" is a 9'x20' room with a used woodstove that we run for all it's worth, we can dry 2,500 board feet of fresh cut green lumber down to 6-8% moisture in 2 weeks
If you attempt to dry your wood in any kind of natural/outdoor/ air-dry environment, you might as well plan on feeding them nasty buggers.
Thanks for the reply. I might paint Antifreeze on the wood. See what happens. I've cured a few small boards with Antifreeze. That hickory is intended for wooden wedges.
 
Antifreeze is a new one on me, never heard of that for bugs... learn something new every day!
Im not for sure about it BUT I've built several boats since 1985. Was on a group for years and some guy told me to use it to cure wood to prevent it from cracking. It wasn't as good as Latex paint but I think it kills wood rot ,that white fungus. I'm thinking it's going to be good for wood. I'd love to water cure the wood. Once I had a above ground swimming pool. I'd get free wooden pallets and float them for a week before taking them apart. If soaked long enough the wood didn't split when I pulled the nails. My guess is Beetles would die if the logs were soaked. I'd like salt water. Gonna try the antifreeze. I milled some today. Good day.
 
Recipe for glycol-borate log preservative.

I came across this on the net somewhere. I dont remember the website but I wrote it down for future use and here it is if anyone is interested. I've used it effectively for various wood destroyers.

The concentrated formula this makes is a lot cheaper than the Boracare prices I've seen.

Ingredients: 4 lbs of 20 mule team borax
3 1/2 lbs boric acid
1 gal. propylene glycol (nontoxic antifreeze)
note: ethelyne glycol may be used but is toxic.
Heat propylene glycol and add borax, stir well.
Add boric acid and stir till mixture is dissolved.
heat mixture to 260 degrees F stirring constantly to prevent crystalization.

This produces 1 gal of preservative concentrate, when ready to use mix very well with 1 gal of water and apply liberally with a garden sprayer. Empty the sprayer and rinse well when done. Or buy a new one later.

There are probably different recipes that work as well
 
Never heard of using Anti-fz on wood, but
I changed the orange anti-fz in my 2010 V8 toyota tundra and some of the old OEM Toyota stuff was spilled on lawn grass.
It killed the bermuda grass in a spot about 4ftx4ft and the grass never grew back for at least 2 years of bare ground and only few springs eventually started coming back.
That was suppose to be the going green type stuff that is safe for all, even for animals to drink, I was thinking.. (yea sure)
Sure would be good as a herbicide. (but expensive)
 
Thanks for the reply. I might paint Antifreeze on the wood. See what happens. I've cured a few small boards with Antifreeze. That hickory is intended for wooden wedges.
The only thing the glycol is for is to help the boron penetrate the wood. Standard anti freeze is toxic (the ethylene glycol type) and might be toxic to bugs as well. It will kill most warm blooded creatures in sufficient quantity.
 
Never heard of using Anti-fz on wood, but
I changed the orange anti-fz in my 2010 V8 toyota tundra and some of the old stuff was spilled on lawn grass.
It killed the bermuda grass in a spot about 4ftx4ft and the grass never grew back for at least 2 years of bare ground and only few springs eventually started coming back.
That was suppose to be the going green type stuff that is safe for all, even for animals to drink.. (yea sure)
Sure would be good as a herbicide. (but expensive)
I don't know for sure, but I doubt any large auto company use the "safe" stuff (propylene glycol) as it is far more expensive than the other kind. Probably someone was just blowing smoke on that stuff being safe.
 
Antifreeze is a new one on me, never heard of that for bugs... learn something new every day!
The only thing the anti freeze is for is to help the boron penetrate the wood. Standard anti freeze is toxic (the ethylene glycol type) and might be toxic to bugs as well. It will kill most warm blooded creatures in sufficient quantity.

The problem with using it on wood is if you have animal or toddlers around the sweetness might cause them to lick or chew and ingest it. Likely to not be good for them.
 
You can use polyethylene glycol "PEG" to stabilize wood blanks before turning them on a lathe. You have to look at the spelling because they all sound real close.

 
You can use polyethylene glycol "PEG" to stabilize wood blanks before turning them on a lathe. You have to look at the spelling because they all sound real close.

Thanks for the replies. Im making wood wedges. For years I've made my own wedges and mallets. I've given so many away I'm getting low. To me low is less than 20. I'm going to make a 5 gallon bucket full this go around. Some Elm, Some Persimmon, some Hickory. I figure every wedge I make has a value of 5 bucks at least. I use a big Glut and mallet along with the hydraulic wood splitter. Felling wedges, bucking wedges, leveling wedges. Heck wedges just come in handy and they are almost free for me. 100 bucks saved can buy something I like better than a plastic wedge. The photo is a glut and Mallet. The paint helps me find it in all light conditions. Have a great dayIMG_20190127_185852_159.jpg
 
When I began to mill the Hickory I found the damage had started mostly under the bark.. I often remove the bark but this time I had gotten so busy and forgot to do that.. Bark removal is important and I find Latex paint is good too..Once I soaked my logs in water.. Sure makes for better milling.. Be blessed..
 

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