The good news is you acted promptly and removed the infected vase. The bad news is you don't know if any adult beetles left the vase, found a mate and then a prime location elsewhere in the home. As explained in our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL ARTICLE, relocating adults will naturally target similar wood as that which they left. So if you have any "new" or "old" furniture that is close in species to the infected vase, it could very well become a target.

To protect any of these pieces, you'll need to treat as explained in our article. Either the BORACARE or the JECTA GEL should be able to handle the job. In most cases, the Boracare is the way to go – especially if the wood is unfinished and porous. Alternatively, if the wood is all sealed up with a finish that won't allow Boracare to penetrate, the Jecta Gel will have to be used. More information on these treatment options can be found in our article.

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

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

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

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

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

My name is Danny and I work for a large general contractor in the L.A. area and have a client with Powder Post Beatles in on cabinet of a 17,000 SQ FT house.

She doesn’t want to tent the house and I am wondering if you have a product that we could use instead of tenting the whole house.

Thank you.

There are several options. The best would be to use the BORACARE featured in our ARTICLE on how to control this pest. It's odorless, will penetrate deep into wood (several inches) and lasts indefinitely when used inside the home. One treatment will protect the wood from future damage and eventually, any larvae attempting to feed will die off and the problem will be resolved.

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

Boracare:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page52.html

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

Would the gel still work – and would I have to create larger holes to get the job done? As the wood is on the top of the table, drilling holes would create a big problem with the appearance of the furniture.

I have been doing a lot of reading about this pest problem – I’m really upset about my beautiful piece of furniture which i purchased last summer from a shop outside my area– and it seems that a fumigation tent ?? is one answer, but so far I haven’t found folks here in the Washington DC area who provide that service.

Would appreciate your advice before purchasing the gel. Thank you very much for your assistance.

I'm not sure you'll be able to treat this piece successfully by injecting just 2-3 existing holes. If you read the section of our powderpost beetle article on furniture applications, you'll learn it's critically important to treat the entire piece if you are to be successful at killing all active phases. But since you make no mention of the piece's size, I can't say for sure if just a few injections will handle it or not. If the total area is less than 1 foot square, it might. But if it's several feet long, you'll need to do more.

At this point you can give us a call at 1-800-877-7290 and ask for Mike or Chad. They should be able to further assist with some options once they have more details.

You might also want to read up more on this pest here:

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

Along with another treatment option here is the piece is really small and mobile:

http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/how-to-treat/powder-post-beetle-in-picture-frame-moulding.html

I don't thing this is a practical or permanent fix. Yes, it will probably kill off some larvae and adults. But eggs and pupae will live through extreme cold which is what their dormant stage is designed to endure. Once the piece is warm again, they'll go about completing their life cycle and in the end, your problem will remain active as always.

To get rid of them for good, either inject the piece with JECTA GEL or strip it down and treat it with BORACARE. This will be a one time deal and surely get rid of them for good.

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

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

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

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

In our FURNITURE BEETLE TREATMENT ARTICLE, you'll see there are a few options listed besides fumigation. The most effective, long lasting and thorough would be the use of BORACARE. Of course the key here is having the surface of the wood bare and "treatable". As our article explains, wood that has a protective finish in place won't accept the Boracare. That means if the bar is varnished, stained or has some other sealant applied to the outer surface, you won't be to treat with Boracare until the finish is removed. And as you can well imagine, this is many times not an option which is why fumigating may be considered. As the pest control service company you spoke with indicated, your bar would have to be carried away and stored in a "container" where the treatment would be administered. No doubt this would work but unfortunately it can be quite costly. At this point I suggest reading our article, learning more about this pest and then deciding if you want to do some work yourself to overcome paying a service to do the treatment.

Here are links to the information and products listed above:

Powder Post Beetle Treatments for Furniture:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control#furniture_beetle_treatments

Boracare:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page52.html

If you read through our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL ARTICLE, the section on FURNITURE TREATMENTS lists two products you can use. The best is the BORACARE and ideally it needs to be applied over the entire lengths of any wood you wish to protect. If you're not able to treat all the surfaces as explained in our article, the JECTA GEL can be injected through small port holes you drill which will enable it to penetrate just like the Boracare. If done properly, both treatments are viable solutions for the problem in your branch legs.

As for kiln drying your maple boards; no doubt this will help kill off a bunch if not all active beetles. But as our article explains, this is far from a perfect option and what would be even better is if you followed up the kiln drying by applying some Boracare. You get the best results when Boracare is applied to dry wood and this 1-2 punch would knock out any activity for sure.

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

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

Furniture Treating for Beetles:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control#furniture_beetle_treatments

Boracare:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page52.html

Jecta Gel:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page156.html

If you read through our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL ARTICLE, you'll see we do in fact list several options for controlling this destructive pest. But in the furniture section of this article, you'll note there is really only two that should be used and one is for small pieces. Once you get to something large like custom cabinets, you really are limited to just the BORACARE. It will both penetrate through and through any wood used for cabinets and since it's odorless and long lasting, it's the best option and the one we recommend. At this point I suggest you either get the cabinets treated with this product or hire a service company that is willing to do the work for you.

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

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

Boracare:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page52.html

If you read through our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL ARTICLE, you'll learn there are two main products we recommend for use on wood. TIMBOR is one of them. But the main limiting feature of this product is that it doesn't penetrate the wood. Timbor is best used as a preventive product since it will lie on the surface of treated wood keeping damaging insects and algae at bay. But if you have an existing problem, the BORACARE is clearly what you must use as we discuss in our FURNITURE TREATING SECTION of our article. Boracare is the only product that will penetrate the wood through and through thus insuring you get all the feeding larvae. Since the wood you've described has an unfinished side or two, it should be easy to effectively get it treated.

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

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

Timbor:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page51.html

Borcare:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page52.html

Furniture Treating (section of article):  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control#furniture_beetle_treatments

The frame should be treated like any other piece of wood; either the BORACARE or the JECTA GEL would do a good job of taking care of problem. If it's a small frame, you could opt to use an INSECT STRIP to essentially fumigate the piece whenever sawdust appears. This is very easy to do and effective though not "permanent". It's good for small wood pieces such as wood models, decorative statues and items which are difficult to treat with either Boracare or Jecta Gel.

Basically all you do is take the piece and place it in a zip lock plastic bag that you can make "air tight". Large kitchen or 55 gallon sized bags will work too. Next, you set the Insect Strip in with the piece, seal it up real tight and leave it for 1 week. Insect Strips are used for closets and other small confined areas where they slowly release killing moths and flies. When used in a small air tight area like this they'll work on any kind of wood beetle too. Again, the treatment won't be permanent but it will get larvae and active adults. And in most cases, after 1-2 treatments like this the problem will run it's course and be done. After a week the piece can be removed and placed back out as desired. You can then seal up the Insect Strip to save it should new activity be found. If new activity is found, repeat the process. Since the cycle of these beetles can include long delays between active stages of either larvae or adults, you might have to do a few treatments before complete control is achieved.

One thing is for sure: If the infestation is active, no doubt more beetles will emerge.

And powder post beetles only eat wood so the fabric is not at risk directly from the insects.

Lastly, there is always the risk that any piece of furniture or part of the structure that demonstrates an active powder post beetle problem can lead to other items made of wood getting infested too.

Treat as explained in our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL article. The section on furniture treatments applies to this picture frame.

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

Boracare:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page52.html

Jecta Gel:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page156.html

Insect Strips:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page307.html

Powder Post Beetle Control Article:  http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control#furniture_beetle_treatments