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 review our POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL ARTICLE, you'll learn the basic biology of this insect which is explained at the beginning of the article. As you'll learn, adults emerge from infested wood and one of the first things they do is seek a new place on which to mate and lay eggs. Remember, cardboard is made from wood and wood by products. It has lots of voids and spaces and in fact can serve as a great location for many pests to live and nest. So to answer your question; it is entirely possible for boxes stored in a room where powderpost beetles are known to be active to in turn get infested. Books and other paper products are powderpost beetle targets and no doubt boxes would be too if kept in the right environment. However, certain conditions would have to be met for this to happen.

First and foremost, the cardboard would have to be "pure" enough to allow them to live. There are lots of extra ingredients that make their way into the cardboard making process. Many of these extra "ingredients" could be dangerous to insects acting as a type of "insecticide". Due to the wide range of cardboard making processes being done, there is no easy way to test any one box to see if it's powderpost beetle friendly or not. For this reason it makes most sense to just assume any one box can harbor an active infestation and with that approach, you should be able to decide what to do.

If the boxes are to be stored for any length of time, you should consider treating them with something like PT-PHANTOM AEROSOL. This product goes on dry, lasts a long time and is just about odorless. It will do a good job of holding off most any pest including PPB should they attempt to land and forage inside the box. Alternatively, you could opt to treat the room where the beetles are active if this main problem has not yet been addressed. I'm sure one of the treatment options listed in our article will do the job.

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

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

Phantom Aerosol:  http://www.bugspray.com/item/phantom_aerosol.html

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