READ MORE ON POWDERPOST BEETLE CONTROL

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

Mesquite wood will commonly have wood beetle activity. Ideally, it should always be treated prior to applying any sealant – especially if it is a work of art which shows signs of activity when being worked on. This is just the smart thing to do if you are giving or selling the work because most people will be unhappy with anything that contains insects which they intend on using inside their home. Whether their concern is warranted or not is not the issue; any type of wood product these days that is being sold as furniture or art should not contain insects which could in turn present other problems or lead to infestations elsewhere. I strongly suggest wood you would like to use which shows insect signs to be treated first with some BORACARE. It's not costly to do, will kill any larva that are feeding and most important, will insure the wood can't lead to any major infestation in some neighboring wood. The treatment won't have any impact on the wood stock and once it dries following the application, you'll be able to safely work with it as if it was completely natural and untreated. BORACARE uses boron as the active which is safe for people and pets to be around so it's environmentally friendly. But to little insects like wood beetles it is not something they can digest when eating it.

At this point I don't know if the JECTA GEL treatment will suffice. It can travel 4-6 inches from any one treatment hole but the hole must have enough material in it for this to happen. Additionally, the wood must have a grain which is receptive to the gel and allows it to flow naturally. If you drill larger holes and place them every 6 inches, I'm sure you'll be able to get good coverage. Alternatively, if you remove the current finish and treat with Boracare, allow it to cure and then reseal it, I'm sure you'll get the desired control as well. But placing some Jecta Gel in 1-2 holes probably won't do the job since it does need to be applied in a "shotgun" pattern to get good coverage through the wood under normal conditions. If your piece has many turns and odd sized cuts, the leaching of the gel may be hampered or limited making uniform coverage difficult. Without seeing a picture or knowing the shape and size, it' hard to tell for sure so if you need a better answer, send some photo's and I'll try to assess the likelihood of success based on the new data.