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

If you read through our POWDERPOST BEETLE ARTICLE, you'll learn that the holes you're finding are in fact caused by adults leaving an area which has activity. Now if you treat the wood with either the JECTA GEL or the BORACARE we have listed in our article, these adults won't be able to use any of the cabinet for new nest sites. More importantly, the treatment will soak into the wood and kill any larvae that might be in there eating.

Now is it possible for the emerging adults to relocate to another area in the home? Yes. But as our article explains, these guys are typically wood specific. That means unless you have wood in the home which is the same kind as the china cabinet, it's not likely the foraging adults will have any luck trying to start a new colony. The odds are them being able to lay eggs on anything wood and having the hatching larvae live is very low unless it matches the wood type used for the cabinet.

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

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

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

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

How concerned do I need to be about these bugs which the funiture store says is the powderpost beetle?

I had it in my house for about a week.  If there are going to  be issues I need to address them now I believe.

Thank you in advance.

As explained in our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL article, powderpost beetles hatching from pupae cases will eat their way out of the wood where they have been living. This "eating out" process generates sawdust. Once they emerge, the adults will fly off looking for similar wood on which to find a mate and reproduce. In most cases, the wood needed will be wood that's the same as the original wood. You don't mention the type of wood the cabinet was made from so I'm not sure if there is any need to be concerned.

Additionally, you don't mention if you saw live beetles or not. Chances are high there were several that emerged when the cabinet was in transit. If it was "wrapped" as you described, I suspect most of the newly emerging beetles would have either died, gotten out of the wrapping and into the local environment or stayed close to the cabinet on which they emerged. With this in mind, I don't think there is much of  reason for you to be concerned at this time.

Lastly, there are other pests which can generate "sawdust" from wood. TERMITES (drywood) and CARPENTER ANTS just to name two; if you didn't see any live insects it is quite hard for me to say with any certainty what created the sawdust you found when you opened the wrapping.

So in summary, let me know if you did in fact see anything other than the sawdust in your log home. If not, I would say there is little reason for alarm. But if you did note several insects migrating from the cabinet when you first opened it, I would say to give us call on our toll free so we can further advise. That number is 1.800.877.7290.