Round headed borers commonly infest live trees and in most cases will die off when the tree dies. But this could take some time and if these are actually some other species, it is entirely possible they'll migrate to other wood in the home. You didn't mention if the piece is finished or not and this factors into the decision on whether to save it or trash it.

If the pieces have unfinished sections, treating with BORACARE as explained in our WOOD BEETLE CONTROL article will take care of the current infestation and protect the wood from future problems. Boracare needs to be applied to unfinished wood in order to penetrate through and through so if the pieces are completely finished, you'll have to decide whether removing the finish to treat and save the piece is worth the time and effort. If not, you may want to discard infested pieces and start anew.

As for any live trees with activity; there are a couple of treatment options that will both control current round headed borers and help prevent the infestation from spreading to other trees. For trees currently showing activity (holes, chambers, sawdust, etc.), inject galleries and holes with PT-CYKICK AEROSOL. Following this you should spray the limbs and trunk with CYPERMETHRIN. The aerosol will kill live beetles and the Cypermethrin will both kill any it contacts as well as provide a month or two of residual so that new borers won't be able to migrate onto any tree sprayed.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Boracare:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal

PT-Cykick: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-cykick-17-5-oz

Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin

Furniture Treatments:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control#furniture_beetle_treatments

We would like to know how to treat them and if they will travel to our wood floors and what to do to keep the infestation from spreading. Thank you for your help.

I suggest you review the FURNITURE TREATMENT section of our on line article that goes over wood treatments for pests like powderpost beetles, termites and wood worms. As you'll learn, if the wood has some unfinished sides to it, you'll be able to treat with BORACARE. When applied to unfinished (raw) wood, Boracare will absorb quickly and basically disappear. But once inside the wood, it will travel and permeate throughout the treated sections. And once uniformly absorbed, the Boracare will make the wood unedible to the wood worms. Eggs that hatch larvae ready to feed will meet a quick death once they start munching on the Boracare treated wood. This will eliminate the infestation as quickly as the eggs hatch. Eventually all will eggs will hatch and all the larvae will die thus breaking the cycle.

Now if it turns out that you don't have any unfinished sides of the tv console, you'll need to drill small access holes into which JECTA GEL can be applied. Jecta Gel is essentially the same type of material as the Boracare but basically designed in a gel form so that it can be applied for times when broadcasting a liquid spray isn't possible.

In either case, once treated the wood will slowly absorb and distribute the treatment throughout all the grain and cells of the cellulose so that any beetles or larva in the wood will eat it and die.This type of treatment is very safe for non target animals like people and pets yet highly effective on anything that's inside the piece.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Boracare:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal

Jecta Gel:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/gel/jecta-gel-10-oz

Furniture Treatments: http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control#furniture_beetle_treatments

Both adults and larvae are easy to kill. Freezing temps will affect the larvae faster as they're not so resistant to the cold. But adults can go "dormant" for awhile and come back to life when it warms. Just how long they can endure the cold before they die depends on a lot of things including the species. But the real question is whether or not any of this matters.

You see, the real way to measure any wood with an active beetle problem is to measure how many eggs it has and not how many larvae. You see, eggs will not be killed by cold. And so when it warms they'll hatch to larvae and the process of the larvae feeding on the wood will continue until it's been treated. So if you want to keep the frame, you'll need to treat it with the JECTA GEL or BORACARE we have featured in our article.

As for the cabinet below; adult beetles that may have released from the frame could be anywhere because they fly. And since they're mostly drawn to light, once they release in any home they usually end up around window frames or light fixtures unless it's the middle of the night when they emerge. If that happens, they tend to rely more on their sense of smell and end up crawling into some kind of wood crack close to where they came from.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Powderpost Beetle Article: http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control

Jecta Gel:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/gel/jecta-gel-10-oz

Boracare:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal

Powderpost beetles emerging from a wood floor will have a hard time relocating their exit holes so it's not likely this will happen. In the wild where wood is untreated, they'll have access to entire pieces of lumber. But in the home, most of the floor will be finished making it impervious to the eggs. This means they'll have to locate small holes over a terrain that's basically sealed tight from intrusion. Furthermore, there will be all kinds of "scenting issues". You see, in the wild, wood releases odors and scents which PPB can target. A lot of these odors are dependent on moisture.

In the home these odors have a hard time permeating like they do in the wild. No doubt the air in your house is a lot dryer which will limit the scent and odor given off by your flooring. Furthermore, it's highly likely that all the other scent in the home will distract the adults from finding what they normally can find easily. But lets say they could; even then it will be very hard for them to locate pre existing exit holes.

Now once adult beetles emerge, they must find a mate before reproduction can begin. Again, in the wild this is relatively easy compared to the confines of a home. But even if they did mate successfully, it's likely their egg production would be "low" compared to the wild. That being said, a female typically will lay 25-50 eggs. In the home where conditions normally are more dry and "harsh" for PPB survival, they'll most likely be laying less compared to egg production in the wild. Now remember, I'm assuming you don't have ideal reproduction conditions in your home. Over the years I've seen homes which were serving as PPB generators because there was a lot of moisture and other variables helping the beetles. My point is some homes will "help" PPB but in most cases this doesn't happen.

Lastly, the life span of an adult is generally a few months to a year with few living more than a year. In the home, it's hard to say but estimates are low meaning most likely just a few days to a few months at most. Again, this would be based on  a "healthy" home free of conditions conducive to insect infestations.

In fact all your questions and concerns kind of "reinforce" the general practice of leaving wood floors untreated when adults emerge because it's generally hard for them to continue the life cycle on the same wood. In other words, active populations tend to die out unless they have enough wood moisture and a good supply of wood on which to lay their eggs. Read more on wood floor infestations and how to treat for them in our WOOD FLOOR TREATING section of our in depth article about powderpost beetles.

If you read our POWDERPOST BEETLE ARTICLE, you'll learn the best product for the job will be BORACARE. It sounds like you have plenty of unfinished wood that's readily accessible so it should be fairly easy to do. Simply "paint" the application on so you don't make a mess. And remember "less is more". What I mean by this is that by applying small amounts over the same area several times, you'll get more into the wood.

When treating an open, raw piece of lumber like what you might have on a deck, one can spray aggressively without care or concern. But because there is no doubt intricate workings inside the upright piano, you cannot use such a technique so painting it on would be the way to go. In the end you'll get the same results; it will just take a little more time to do the job.

Lastly, make sure you understand the sawdust you're finding is the "exit" holes where they're leaving the upright piano and not signs of new ones attacking. This is a common misperception and it's important to understand the difference. This is covered in our article.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Powderpost Beetle Article:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control

Boracare:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal

It's tough to say for sure if there is need for concern or not. This is especially true since you've thrown away all the "evidence". If you watch any of the CSI Crime shows on TV, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Insects make great witnesses and they don't lie. If you had preserved a specimen, it could have been identified. Once identified, we'd know it's habits, what it likes to eat, etc. And with this information we'd be able to make a much more educated prognosis. But now they're gone and without them, no hope of projecting with certainty what might happen.

That being said, it is entirely possible some of the larvae foraged out of the box and into some part of the home. Mind you I'm not trying to make you scared; I'm merely trying to point out this very well could have happened.

And if you would feel more at ease by having someone look the area over, I'm sure you can find a pest control service to come and inspect the space where the ornaments were stored. If larvae crawled into any area close by and started to infest some native wood, there should be signs of activity.

Other than having someone come look to see if there is activity, I don't believe any kind of treatment is warranted for the time being. But the next time you find something that could very well pose a hazard to the structure, I suggest you refrain from discarding it immediately but instead keep it for further inspection purposes.

Please help!

If you read our article on POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL, you'll learn that freezing and heat treatments won't kill eggs so it's not an effective way to control active infestations of powderpost beetles. The only options you have would be to fumigate, inject the wood with JECTA GEL, dip the wood in BORACARE or do your own "fumigation" using some INSECT STRIPS. Here's a breakdown on what to expect regarding these treatment these options.

1. Fumigation via a pest service would be very costly (thousands of dollars) so I'm guessing this is not a viable option.
2. Jecta Gel injected to any exit holes or other "port" in exposed wood could do the job if you have enough holes to put the gel into.
3. Boracare "dip" would be the best way to go. No doubt the pieces would absorb enough product making them unlivable for the larvae.
4. Lastly, making your own "fumigation" tent is an option. To do this you'd place an insect strip in a thick plastic bag and seal it nice a tight. The air inside would be unusable by any insect and they'd die once hatched from their egg stage. The only limit to this treatment is that it would take months to complete because without knowing the species of beetle active, there is no telling how long it takes for eggs to gestate and hatch. To be safe, you'd need to wait at least 6 months. Most species hatch in 3 months or less but there are some that go for 3-9 months and some a year or longer (though these species are rare).

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Powderpost Beetle Article:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control

Jecta Gel:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/gel/jecta-gel-10-oz

Boracare:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal

Insect Strips:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/repellents/fumigant/hotshot-no-pest-strip

READ MORE ON POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL

Flat head borers are amongst the more common wood boring beetles found throughout North America. They'll commonly infest most any hard wood but some species prefer to target and focus in on the same species if readily available in one region. From what you're seeing, it sounds like there is some kind of borer involved here which can be treated but since it's infested both pear and apple trees, I'd make sure they're not more distributed throughout the landscape.

The simplest option is to treat the trunk of any pear or apple tree you want to protect with some CYPERMETHRIN. It's got a general label that allows for trees to be treated for boring beetles and will work on anything that attempts to live on treated surfaces. Use a standard PUMP SPRAYER or HOSE END SPRAYER to apply the Cypermethrin and if you infected trees every month for 3-6 months, the problem should subside.

If the infestation is severe enough, get some CYKICK AEROSOL too. It comes with an injecting straw that enables you to direct treatments into the little galleries and tunnels which otherwise might not absorb the Cypermethrin enough. Cykick will kill on contact but not last as long as the Cypermethrin. But for severe infestations, treating with both is suggested.

Lastly, be sure to spray other non infected trees every 36 months – especially in the spring – to prevent the spread of this pest. Trees can take some damage and not show signs anything is happening which means a lot of flat head borers can infest one before you know anything is happening. Simply treating your pear and apple trees periodically during the year can help prevent any major damage and keep flat hear borers under control.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Cypermethrin:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin

Pump Sprayer:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/eliminator-gallon-sprayer

Hose End Sprayer:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/gilmour-20g-390

Cykick:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-cykick-17-5-oz

Whitepine is no doubt susceptible to all kinds of beetles. What you're describing sounds like BARK BEETLES which usually don't cause dramatic damage. But like most wood boring beetles, they can be a problem that will spread of left unattended.

Considering what you'd like to do with the whitepine, I would recommend treating with BORACARE. It can penetrate up to 4 inches so if you have access to all sides of the whitepine limbs, a good treatment will no doubt soak through and through and will get any beetles that might be nesting in the wood.

So to answer your questions; yes, you can most definitely treat with Boracare. One treatment should be enough. And afterward, you can finish the wood in any fashion you'd like. Stain, varnish, paint, etc. The Boracare won't have any impact.

Once treated, the wood should be allowed to cure for a few weeks and if you find no new activity for a few months following the treatment, you should be fine. Of course it could take longer for certain species of pupae to hatch out and make their presence known but if you inspect the wood every month or two for a year and don't see anything, that would mean the problem was most likely fully resolved.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Boracare:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal

Powderpost Beetles:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control

Bark Beetles:  http://www.bugspray.com/article/pinebark.html