We know woodworm isn’t the most fun topic to read about, however, if you own any piece of wood furniture (which I’m sure you do), you need to read this article so that you don’t end up with significant damage to your indoor furniture, no matter whether you think that you might have woodworm or not.
Detecting Woodworm
First up, let’s talk about how you can detect woodworm and then we will look into the treatments that you can do to eradicate the insect from your wood furniture.
- Droppings
The first thing you’ll want to look for is whether the woodworm is active, active woodworms will leave signs of droppings or frass which look like sawdust on your indoor furniture. This will be a clear sign to help you diagnose whether your wood furniture has been affected by woodworm. These will often be found near the small exit holes made from the woodworm or on the underside of the wood furniture.
- Small Holes
As we’ve just briefly mentioned, small holes in your wood furniture can be a telltale sign of your indoor furniture being infested with woodworm. These will be very small holes that may not be easily visible to everyone and you may need to look very closely to notice these.
- Beetles
An obvious diagnosis of woodworm is actually seeing the beetles themselves, once you see these on your wooden furniture you can guarantee that you have got a woodworm issue that will need to be treated.
If you do notice beetles on your wooden furniture that have died, don’t take this for face value as this could be a sign of a previous woodworm issue that should still be investigated to avoid further issues from eggs that may have been laid from a previous infestation.
- Damp timber
Like most insects, woodworms also have an ideal home environment which is damp timber. If you have other signs of woodworm and your indoor furniture is suffering from damp, then it’s very possible that you have a woodworm infestation that needs treating.
Treating Woodworm
To treat woodworm in your wood furniture you need to first identify the type of woodworm that is infesting your furniture, check out this post from Peter Cox who identifies the 4 different types of woodworm and what to expect from an outbreak.
Once this has been done, you can then buy the relevant woodworm killers from the DIY store and follow the instructions on the packaging. However, if you think that the infestation is a bigger problem than you first thought it is worth getting in touch with a specialist to help you get rid of them in the correct and most effective way.
Preventing Woodworm
When you have managed to treat the woodworm, it is important to make sure that you prevent another infestation. Things to consider are:
- Eliminating the damp patches in your home that will affect timbers or wood furniture
- Seal your wood with varnish
- Avoid bringing woodworm into your house by checking new pieces of furniture for woodworm before bringing them home
- Keep your home well ventilated
Alternatively, if you’re not wanting to or you’re unable to treat the woodworm in your wood furniture and you’d rather buy new to ensure that you will not be affected again for a while take a look at our selection of wood furniture available at Inside Out Living.
