Woodworm control has many facets. Measures in the immediate living environment require careful consideration in order to rule out risks for people, pets and the environment. This guide has set itself the task of providing you with comprehensive information about proven methods in the fight against longhorns and their ilk. In this way, you can successfully identify and combat woodworm inside and outside your home.

A woodworm infestation should be treated promptly, otherwise the piece of furniture can no longer be saved

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Vulnerable Places
  3. detect infestation
  4. Fight poison-free
  5. use home remedies
  6. Combat thermally
  7. Get rid of mechanically
  8. Last resort pesticide
  9. Large-scale combat
  10. Woodworm is a beetle larva
  11. frequently asked Questions

    12. the essentials in brief

    • Woodworm infests both old and new, moving or stationary, but especially built-up wood
    • An infestation can be recognized by the sawdust at the foot of the infested wood and by the gnawing noise
    • Woodworms can be combated in an environmentally friendly way with intense heat (over 55°C), intense cold (below -12°C) or vinegar, ammonia solution or isopropanol
    • Pesticides should only be used in an absolute emergency

    Which places are at risk?

    Woodworms primarily target built, processed wood to lay their eggs in. It doesn't matter to the pests how old the infested piece of wood is. The new sauna is just as little spared as a valuable antique. Against this background, it is not very reassuring that Hausbock and colleagues generally disdain fresh tree wood in gardens, parks and forests. In and around the house there is a wide range of veritable places for the ravenous rabble. The following table lists typical places where you have to expect woodworm infestation:

    Inside Outside
    Furniture roof truss/roof beams
    antiques half-timbered
    Parquet/plank floor barn, garden house
    wall paneling firewood/firewood
    room beam front door
    living room door window frames
    stairway
    window
    Picture Frame
    sauna

    Woodworms infest old and new pieces of furniture - unless they are protected

    Woodworms don't give a damn whether you use a piece of furniture every day. As long as the table, chair, cupboard or chest of drawers are made of wood, cheeky female beetles can misuse all furniture as a breeding ground for insatiable larvae. Antique furnishings made of wood are just as vulnerable to wood pests as furniture recently purchased directly from the carpenter's workshop.

    Detect active infestation

    Before you invest a lot of time, effort and money in combating it, you should make sure that you are dealing with an active woodworm infestation. Tiny holes in the wood are merely an indication that maggots have been in it at some point. How to determine an acute presence of wood pests:

    • pile of sawdust: lay out dark paper and examine for fresh sawdust
    • feeding noises: pay attention to audible gnawing noises at night
    • Beetle: Keep an eye out for live or dead bugs
    • Gnawed foil: Cover holes in the wood with foil in spring and inspect for exit holes that have been gnawed through until autumn
    • document: commission a certified expert before starting cost-intensive control methods

    If there are no doubts about an active infestation based on the indications, please carefully consider how to proceed. Extreme haste for control measures against woodworm is rarely necessary. Experience has shown that the woodworm advances its work of destruction slowly, yet unstoppably. For this reason there is no reason for blind activism, such as using a chemical club or deep digging into your wallet. In the early stages or in the case of local infestation, there are tried-and-tested options for combating the pests yourself using natural means.

    Active woodworms can be identified by fine sawdust around the affected piece of furniture

    Fighting woodworm without poison - an overview of the means and methods

    The invasive destructive power in the family's immediate living environment makes controlling house longhorns, bed bugs and cronies a difficult undertaking. Here the obvious desire for non-toxic methods meets a hardened pest species with a clever survival strategy. The following table provides an overview of biological agents and methods that effectively control wood pests:

    home remedies Heat above 55° Cold below - 12° mechanical methods
    isopropanol oven freezer beat
    vinegar/vinegar essence sauna cooling chamber acorns
    liquid ammonia microwave outside (in winter) compressed air
    hot air/hair dryer vacuum
    drying chamber (carpenter's workshop)
    Foil hood (outside)

    Home remedies versus woodworm - tips & tricks

    Local infestation favors combating woodworm with natural means. The focus is on tried-and-tested home remedies, which are named in the table above. In the following we have compiled promising tips for the successful application:

    • isopropanol: apply with a paintbrush, pack in foil airtight, leave to work for 3 to 5 days
    • vinegar: Fill the syringe with vinegar essence and spray into each woodworm hole
    • liquid ammonia: Put on respiratory protection, place wood with open ammonia solution in the sun under a foil hood for several hours
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    Home remedies are not to be taken lightly. Please pay attention to important safety precautions. There is an increased risk of fire when using high-percentage isopropanol. Vinegar essence can damage wooden surfaces. Fumes from ammonia are not only harmful to health, but often change the color of the treated wood. Alcohol may act as a solvent. Test in advance on a hidden spot whether the wooden surface shows any negative reactions to the biological agent.

    tips

    A double-edged sword in combating wood pests are biological agents with an intense smell. Tea tree oil, linseed oil, petrol, diesel or petroleum achieve good results in scaring away or destroying the woodworm never to be seen again. The joy of victory is short-lived, as you'll be struggling with a persistent stench for years.

    Combat thermally - instructions for laymen

    Woodworms can be fought successfully and completely free of poison with cold or heat

    The woodworm dreads heat and cold. In fact, the insatiable larvae have nothing to oppose the sweltering heat or the freezing frost. Unless the infestation is widespread, thermal control of wood pests is very popular because it works without poison and the appropriate equipment is usually available. This is how thermal woodworm destruction works:

    • oven: Heat wood slowly at 60 degrees and let cool overnight
    • sauna: gradually heat up large pieces of wood to 60 degrees and cool down slowly
    • microwave: Microwave small parts several times for 90 seconds at 600 watts
    • drying chamber: Let mobile furniture heat up in the drying chamber at the carpenter's or sawmill's
    • freezer: Wrap the wood in foil and put it in the freezer for 2-3 days
    • outside: expose worm-eaten wood to the cold under a foil hood in winter

    The microwave method also promises good results with large-scale woodworm infestation. Of course, for use on large pieces of furniture, thick beams or the entire roof truss, other calibers are required than the microwave in your kitchen. With the help of special emitters shaped like a megaphone, the wood is bombarded with microwaves in sections. Wood ticks and other wood pests do not withstand this treatment for long. Risks associated with this, such as overheating, the risk of fire or cracks, require many years of experience, which certified exterminators and a reputable specialist company have to offer.

    Non-toxic hot air process

    Woodworms are attacked with hot air if the outflowing air is more than 55 degrees Celsius. The hot air method has emerged as one of the best ways to combat woodworm safely and without toxins. Affected surfaces and areas are sealed off with tarpaulins, apart from a controlled ventilation opening. External hot air blowers heat the wood for a period of 8 to 14 hours and destroy all harmful insects in it.

    You can achieve the effect locally with a hair dryer. The cost-benefit effect is of course assessed critically. The power-guzzling device should be left on for at least 45 minutes, which will drive up your next electricity bill. Furthermore, the airflow is directed to a very small radius, so that a complete destruction of all maggots is just a matter of luck.

    Like the maggot in the bacon, the woodworm only lives until the wood is heated, frozen, or soaked in alcohol.

    Get rid of woodworm mechanically

    The power of home remedies and thermal methods is optimized with supplementary, mechanical strategies. The motto is: with carrot and stick. You make life hell for the beasts by constantly making a racket. At the same time, offer the larvae a tempting treat outside of the wood as a retreat. This is how the plan works:

    1. Place acorns around the infested wood
    2. From now on, whenever you get a chance, knock hard on the wood
    3. Exchange acorns with feeding holes for fresh fruit every 2 to 3 days
    4. Dispose of acorns colonized with woodworm in the compost
    5. Continue until there are no more drilled acorns to be found

    Woodworm larvae are cunning and don't always fall for the knock-acorn trick. If the results fall far short of expectations, compressed air technology can be used as a further mechanical procedure. To do this, blow out each feeding passage with compressed air from the round entrance. Since you are denied a look inside the wood, you can never be sure that you have caught all the vandals with the compressed air method.

    Last resort pesticide

    If all efforts to combat it biologically come to nothing, the chemical mace awaits at the end of the tunnel. Specialist shops offer numerous pesticides that kill woodworm larvae. The other side of the coin are toxic ingredients such as permethrin. This is a neurotoxin that is of concern to humans and pets. In the run-up, important safety precautions must be observed, which each manufacturer explains in detail in the package insert. The following products are rated as effective by users plagued by woodworm:

    • Envira woodworm spray for 11.80 euros for 500 ml
    • Kluthe Holzwurmtod at a price of 17.99 euros for 2.5 l plus 5 disposable syringes at a price of 8.95 euros
    • Xyladecor against woodworms with a spray head at a price of 11.50 euros for 250 ml
    • Woodworm stop with injection attachment from Detia Garda at the price of 9.90 euros for 200 ml

    The undisputed test winner is Envira's woodworm spray. The agent is non-corrosive, odorless and non-flammable. The knock-down effect on woodworm is primarily based on the ingredient permethrin. For large-scale use, the manufacturer offers inexpensive refill packs with 2 or 5 liters.

    Entrust large-scale combat to professionals

    If the roof structure or load-bearing parts of the building are infected with woodworm, you should refrain from doing it yourself. The large-scale fight on your own is associated with imponderable risks and is seldom crowned with success. Instead, trust in the experience of experienced and certified experts, because after all, it's about your home.

    background

    Chemical fumigation is under criticism

    As an alternative to the hot-air method, specialist companies offer the option of gassing infested roof structures, apartments and houses with a special poison, usually sulfuryl fluoride or a mixture of sulfur and fluorine. This gas reliably destroys all wood pests and works without a depot effect, so that treated rooms can usually be used again after 24 hours. A disadvantage is the comparatively high cost factor, due to the complex preparations. Furthermore, special technology is used that requires well-founded know-how. Last but not least, the prospect of living in a toxic gas house leaves many people feeling uneasy.

    Woodworm is a beetle larva

    The term woodworm is a synonym for a whole flock of beetles and their larvae that are capable of flight. If tiny holes in the wood of the roof structure, furniture or beams cause headaches, you are not dealing with a worm infestation. Rather, you are confronted with the destructive brood of the following beetle species, which eat their way through the wood in the form of cylindrical maggots:

    • Longhorn beetle, primarily house longhorn (Hylotrupes bajulus): 8-26 mm long, winged, brown to black and gray hairy
    • Common nail beetle (Anobium punctatum): 2-5 mm long, winged, reddish-brown, very hairy, hood-like pronotum
    • Colorful poke beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum): 5-7 mm long, winged, dark brown with yellow hair spots
    • Defiant head (Hadrobregmus pertinax): 4.5-6 mm long, winged, black-brown, cylindrical, sparsely hairy
    • Brown sapwood beetle (Lyctus brunneus): 2.5-7 mm long, winged, reddish brown, smooth, dotted elytra

    Maggots of these beetles can hardly be distinguished by species affiliation for laypeople, because the color of the worm-shaped bodies is uniformly white to cream-colored. Over the course of several larval stages, house longhorn beetle larvae reach a length of up to 30 mm, whereas pincer beetle larvae rarely grow longer than 5 mm.

    way of life

    The larvae of woodworms quietly and secretly eat their way through the wood

    Depending on the species, a female beetle lays up to 200 eggs a year in the wood and then leaves the brood to itself. Within a short time, the eggs turn into insatiable larvae that bore through the beams, parquet, furniture or otherwise processed wood. It can take up to eight years before the larvae of the common pine beetle pupate. The larvae of the house longhorn are up to mischief for up to 15 years. Only then does the metamorphosis into an adult beetle take place. On the way there, an extensive system of feeding passages is created, which significantly impairs the stability of the wood and, in the worst case, can cause entire roof structures to collapse. The life span of a mature beetle extends over a few weeks in which no food is taken.

    This brief excursion into the biological background of woodworm species makes no claim to scientific quality or completeness. Various Wikipedia articles provide comprehensive information about the woodworm.

    digression

    Do not confuse the house goat with the wooden goat

    The titling of two completely different insects harbors a high risk of confusion, which can have fatal consequences. A species of longhorn beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus), known as the longhorn beetle, is spreading fear and terror in Europe under the name longhorn beetle. This guide is dedicated to combating these wood pests effectively. The term wood tick (Ixodes ricinus), on the other hand, hides one of the most dangerous species of ticks, which can cause significant damage to the health of humans and pets. A confusion of both terms should be avoided beforehand when choosing control agents, because most anti-house longhorn remedies are ineffective against wood tick and vice versa.

    frequently asked Questions

    What costs can be expected if an exterminator is commissioned to combat woodworm?

    Estimating the costs for using a specialist company in advance is difficult if not impossible. Numerous factors determine the final price, such as infestation location, type of pest, infestation pressure, control method and time expended. A reputable company will first inspect the property and then create a cost calculation. As a rough guideline for the hourly wage, 100 to 150 euros can be expected. The killing of wood pests in built-in wood using non-toxic microwave or hot air methods costs an average of 600 euros.

    Where can I buy woodworm control products?

    Biological agents, such as isopropanol or ammonia, are available from hardware stores, such as Obi, Toom or Hornbach. The range also includes insecticides, such as the test winner Envira Holzwurmtod or the proven wood preservative Xyladecor for protective exterior coatings.

    My old dresser is infested with woodworm. I've heard that cold kills the vermin. Is it enough to put the old furniture on the balcony when it's frosty?

    Fighting woodworm with cold requires that you expose the infested chest of drawers to frost below -12 degrees Celsius without interruption for 48 to 72 hours. In Germany, this premise cannot be met in most regions, since the temperatures exceed the threshold value, at least during the day. If the balcony is in a winter-harsh Alpine region or in the Ore Mountains, it is at least worth a try.

    I read on the Internet that the woodworm can be fought with nitrogen without poison. Can I use the method to control pests in a living space myself?

    Gassing with nitrogen works on the principle of suffocation to kill the woodworm. For this purpose, infested wooden objects or an affected living space must be encased gas-tight with foil so that no oxygen can penetrate. Constant temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius and a treatment period of 8 to 10 weeks are decisive for the success of the control. During this time, no one is allowed to come within 10 meters of the apartment without special protective equipment. The control method is only permitted to certified specialist companies throughout Europe.

    Fighting woodworm with hairspray - is that possible?

    In one or the other forum you can read that hairspray is good as a home remedy against woodworm. In theory, the spray could clog the maggots' sensitive respiratory organs, causing them to suffocate. In this context, it is underestimated that these are clever pests that eat their way deep into the wood - unattainable for non-toxic hairspray. Effective woodworm spray has toxic components in its baggage and is not just sprayed on the surface. Commercially available products have an injector attachment to allow the insecticide to be delivered deep into the feeding tunnels.

    Where can I find the contact details of certified woodworm control professionals?

    The Deutsche Holz- und Bautenschutzverband e.V. operates an informative database that you can use to find a qualified company for combating wood pests in your area. Based on your postal code, an intuitive search mask will guide you step by step to the contact details. As a rule, there are several DHBV specialist companies to choose from.

    tips

    In a vacuum, the woodworm will run out of air after four to twelve weeks at the latest. In order to free valuable antiques or irreplaceable family heirlooms from wood pests without poison, specialist companies offer temporary or permanent storage in almost a vacuum. For handy, small furniture, the method also works on your own, provided the affected part fits into a vacuum bag measuring 180x90x50 cm and a vacuum sealer is available.

Category:

Animals in the garden