There're in a 30-year old upright piano. I can see the areas they've attacked. It's in a house in Vermont that's unheated during the winter. The exterior is black and varnished, but the interior–keys, soundboard, etc.–is pine and spruce and in its natural state. There's been some fine sawdust on the floor coming from one section they've gotten in to on the underside of the bottom (not painted), and the bottom (which comes out) has more from where they've been at the soundboard. That's also the case when you turn the piano around and look at the back. That's entirely frame and soundboard, unpainted. Also when you lift out the keyboard–which you need to do from time to time for maintenance–you see sawdust from the underside of the keys.
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I was cleaning out and putting away my chritmas ornaments, and found some native american drum ornaments, wood with cellulose drum faces, destroyed by some kind of beetle. The casings of the pupas were there, a live beetle, and lots of fine powder. The drum ornaments were from china. They were in my attic crawl space in a cardboard box. I thew them all away and the box, but do i have to worry about the attic being infested? The drum ornaments were unfinished wood, which they seemed to like. The ornaments were sitting in the attic for a few years.
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I restore old dolls and recently started working on a project were the the legs and arms are turned wood; probably pine. Unfortuneatly there is evidence of powderpost beetles have been present. What is the life cycle; can freezing the items kill off what may still be there? I am not sure that using products that you recommend will not harm the finish on the old doll parts so am concerned with how to handle.
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I have several pear and apple trees. The barks on these trees have tiny little holes throughout the base. Trees seem to be dying. I think the culprit is a Flat Head Boring Beetle. How can I get rid of these creatures and save my trees?
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WE HAD A 60 FOOT PINE TREE COME DOWN IN A WIND STORM SEVERAL YEARS AGO. I KEEP THE BRANCHES AND HAD THEM STORED OUTSIDE. THEY GO TO ABOUT 4" IN DIAMETER. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SOME FURNITURE WITH THEM. I STARTED A PROJECT THIS PAST WEEK AND WHEN REMOVING THE BARK DISCOVERED TUNNEL TRACKS AND HOLES IN THE WOOD. MY QUESTIONS ARE: CAN I TREAT THE BRANCHES WITH BORACARE? IS ONE TREATMENT ENOUGH? CAN I PUT A FINISH ON THE WOOD AFTER TREATMENT? HOW WILL I KNOW IF IT IS SAFE TO TAKE THE FINISHED PIECE INTO THE HOUSE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
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My husband and i are seriously considering purchasing a house in a historical section of the Northeast U.S. We had a home inspection today and he pointed out beams throughout the house that may have had powder beetles. The beams had many, many small holes. He did not think they were active but advised us to call an exterminator and construction worker. It had a crawl space basement, quite dry. We have to make a decision soon about purchasing this 300 year old house, but we cannot afford huge structural problems in the future that would require cement and steal beams. Presently there are some wooden beams that have been supporting the basement beams. Please advise. Are we beyond Boracare? Please advise.
More on how to treat 300 year old house with powderpost beetles
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Friends bought a cabinet from Walmart (from China) and one of the support pieces has evidence of woodworm. In six months, it has gotten worse with over 20 exit holes and telltale "talcum" powder-like dust piles. What should they do?
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I have an antique table which has or has had a beetle infestation in the soft wood. The underside of the table has been stained, but not finish coat was applied. Can I apply the Boracare solution to this stained underside and expect sufficient penetration to kill any larvae?
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I just bought an antique buffet in an antique mall. It is by far one of the favorite pieces I have collected. I bought it in May-ish, and it was in the owner's (of the mall) garage all summer. I do not remember any holes when I bought it and I looked it over pretty well. They delivered it abt 3 wks ago to my garage- I did not look at it, and it was moved to Arkansas a wk ago. It is eaten up! Orkin says there is nothing they can do. HELP!! I need to know the gestation period of the beetle. And I want my buffet bug free!
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Orkin has informed me my crawlspace has both powderpost beetles & old house borer and the cost to treat is $1600. I wonder if this a high cost or I do not even know if the crawl space is even infected with the bugs. Or if it is can you treat yourself ? Please give me your opinion. Thank You.
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