So I need to treat but I don't know where to start? Do I treat everything? And what about my furniture? We have alot of cherry and oak pieces and I don't them in any of my furniture.

Deathwatch beetles mostly target hardwoods like cherry and oak. If the molding is a hardwood species, it would explain how they've gotten inside some sections. As for the wall space; if you have normal pine studs commonly used in construction, its not likely deathwatch beetles will be in there since they need hardwoods for food.

As for treating;  you'll first have to make sure any wood you want to save is accessible. That means it cannot have a finished coat of something on it like varnish. This is all covered in our BEETLE ARTICLE. So if you wish to save moldings that show deathwatch beetle activity, you'll probably have to remove the molding from the wall, strip it down, treat it with BORACARE and then reinstall it after it's cured. Since cherry wood is expensive, it will probably make sense to save it and recycle the treated the pieces.

As for the wall void; I doubt you'll have to treat it. The chances are high only the molding is infested and after getting those pieces treated, simply wait and see if anything new happens. I'm willing to bet it won't be cause I bet the problem will be confined to just the molding.

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

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

In most any case, BORACARE should be used whenever possible. In my experience, most dressers have plenty of unfinished areas inside the drawer cabinet. Simply remove all the drawers and check inside for unfinished wood. If available, get the Boracare and either spray or "paint" it on.

Once treated, it's important to understand the treatment will serve you by killing the larvae stages still feeding. Once they eat the treated lumber, they'll die. Unfortunately the treatment will not control the developing pupae so following the application you will still see some tunneling out. This might go on for 3-6 months and is perfectly normal till all pupae have hatched at which point the wood will be free and clear of any infestations.

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

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

Thank you.

Since you have a house which has "a lot of wood", I feel it would be in your best interest to take care when bringing in any wood for future projects and construction. Unprocessed wood, especially anything that's large or thick in size, can easily hide all kinds of insects. As explained in our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL article, wood eating beetles are amongst the most common beetles found worldwide and I suspect that most of these would find plenty to eat in your house. With this concern cited, here are my suggestions given the current situation…

As I see it, most wood you bring inside to work on or keep for any length of time should be treated. This is a must for anything you intend on keeping alongside other projects or furniture in the house. Since there are so many ways for active beetles to hide in wood and so many optional food items already in your home, there is just too much risk associated with randomly bringing anything inside unless you are 100% sure there is no need for concern. Since treating any wood intended to be used for furniture or other construction is so easy to do and inexpensive to protect when unfinished and raw, I would recommend that for now on you start treating with the BORACARE as a safeguard and surefire preventive measure. It will both purge any wood you want to use of all insects as well as guard it against future attacks or infestations.

So to answer your most urgent question: "Now what do I do?"; I believe there are two viable options. As explained in my previous message, I believe you need to treat any wood you intend on keeping and using for the home. So the vanity can be saved if you treat it with the Boracare. This will both get rid of the current population of sculptured beetles as well as protect it from any future infestations. But is it worth saving? That I cannot answer. As our article explains, you need to have access to an unfinished side of the wood so the Boracare is able to penetrate deep enough and have an impact on the feeding larvae. I don't know if the wood is so well sealed with the polyurethane that it will involve a lot of work and hence destruction that the piece will be too altered in the process of getting it prepared for the treatment. In laymans terms; is it feasible to save? If not, abandoning it may be the better option. But if you decide to start from scratch, my recommendation still stands: treat the new wood with the Boracare prior to construction to insure it won't have the same fate as the first vanity. Nothing is more frustrating than to find wood beetles in any piece which has undergone countless man hours of construction so make sure this doesn't happen again; preventive treatments with Boracare will be your best option now and in the future.

There is no risk to people, the wood or the local environment if you were to treat it with the Boracare we have listed in our article. When mixed and applied properly, there is no odor and once left to cure (46-72 hours) the wood will keep it's look prior to the treatment. Using BORACARE will not affect this wood whether used for molding, furniture or firewood. It uses Boron for the active ingredient and these products are both safe and yet effective for certain pests like powder post beetle larvae.

If you wish to protect your future creations, I suggest treating most any wood you intend on using for furniture. Nothing can be more humiliating then to have emerging beetle larvae coming from a finished piece which took endless hours to create. Don't risk this happening; treat the wood beforehand – especially any good quality costly hardwood stock – to insure it will remain intact for many years to come.

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

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

Furniture treatments: http://www.powderpostbeetles.com/powderpost-beetle-control