I've Got Bugs....

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Brad Adams

>Hi Wally,

I'm no expert on pesticides, but if the wood is dry maybe stick it in a garbage bag with some moth balls... or, I can send you a bag of camphor shavings. They seem to chase away or kill any bugs in the neighborhood and I�ve got no shortage of them.

Brad

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Bill Hale, Woodspinner

>Wally

Put the wood in plastic bags and add a pesticide. I had the same problem and it took care of the problem.

I have been meaning to ask where you bought your wood when you went North. I plan a trip to Central Calif. and on up to Oregon if need be to get wood. We need to get together this Winter as I live in Casa Grande and you are not that far away from me.

Good turning and be safe

Bill

Re: I've Got What Bugs....

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Wally,

Do you KNOW they are Powder Posts or are you assuming that? What you describe could just as well be Ambrisia Beetles who really like maple, and, after hatching, bore out and leave the log. If your burl had Ambrosia egg galleries that have now matured, you have no problem because the Ambrosia will not return to the log.

Powder Posts are a very different story; they stay in the wood and eat it inside out.

Suggest you put the pieces inside clear plastic bags, seal them, and see what you have in the bag in a few days. If you've got critters crawling in the bag, get a look-see up close, then Google "Ambrosia Beetle" and "Power Post Beetle" and compare the pix with your bag.

Of course you can also put a 1 pound chunk of dry ice in the bag, seal and hook it up to your vacuum pump, pull 25" of Hg. so the bag atmosphere is transformed to pure CO2, and let it sit for a week. After that, it won't much matter what WAS in there; it's dead anyway.

Mark

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Doug Leite

>Wally,

I sure hope that the other guys are right about in may be Ambrosia beatles, as we have powder post beatles here in Hawaii and they like anything with sap. When I cut any Mango or Norfolk Pine, I immediately have to spray it with a product called "Ortho Klor", other wise there are powder streamers sticking out of the wood the very next day. Even while turning, if I leave the piece on the lathe overnight without spraying, the next day it will be full of holes. Another guy in our club claims that "Isotox" also works, but I have never tried it.

Good luck

Doug Leite

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Brad, seems to me that it would be best to send a solid piece of camphor wood and let me make my own chips.

Wally

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Bill, it sounds like the best solution would be the plastic bag and pesticide way. What did you use?

I'll e-mail info on an Oregon wood supplier.

By all means, let's get together.

Wally

Re: I've Got What Bugs....

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Mark, after seeing the bugs, I did a check and found that they are indeed powder post beetles. I'll do the plastic bag and pesticide routine and hope that I get them all.

Wally

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Doug, I've checked, and they are powder post beetles. After visiting Jack Straka near Hilo a few years ago I could see that bugs in Hawaii can be a problem. I got some nice curly koa from Jack and we had to check it well so that it would pass the Agriculture dep't inspection.

Wally

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Russ

>When I lived in a climate where bugs in the wood were common, I always assumed that when I saw them below one piece of wood, they had already gotten into the rest of my wood pile. I built a plastic tent over the wood, and bombed it with one of those "Raid" room fumigators (the kind that uses a little water in a cup to set it off). Worked every time.

Re: Treatment

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Wally,

Have spoken to several exterminators and they have been uniform that Powder Post can only be rid by replacing the wood; no pesticide you can get will penetrate into the log where the nests are located; all it will do is make the wood dust toxic when you turn it. If, however, you evacuate the atmosphere in the log [better yet replace it with a toxic atmosphere of CO2] your critters will die, but it will take a while due to the oxygen inside the wood itself; reduce that to near 0, replace it with CO2, and your beetles will be gone. There are also no toxic residuals in the wood this way.

Mark

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Peter Teubel

>All green wood that comes into my shop gets a spray of Raid. In addition, I set off three of those bug bombs in my shop a few times a year.

Re: I've Got Bugs....

e

>boy, i certainly would be concerned in turning pesicide-treated wood~

reading the warning labels on most insecticide, there are enough precautions to raise question on this treatment method.

e

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Chris Andrew

>Wally,

Powederpost beetles are very common in bigleaf maple. Even if you don't see signs of them, it's best to assume that they are there. It's been reported that the larvae can remain dormant for long periods of time (years) before becoming active.

Oregon State University (Extension Service) has some good information on these little critters. They have a publication titled "Preventing and controlling Powderpost beetles in around the home." Here's the url:

http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/html/PNW/PNW326/PNW326.htmls

Their recommendation is to freeze the wood at for at least 48 hours at 0 degrees fahrenheit. I place maple burl pieces in a plastic bag and let them sit in a home freezer for a week or two. There is no apparent damage to the wood, and it gives me some hope that I've killed the critters.

Re: I've Got Bugs....

John Williams in PA

>If it is practical, (size of your pieces may be too big), microwaving does 'em in. Low power until the out side surface get warm...nothing lives thru that.

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Thanks for you input, everyone....When I was in Oregon this summer, I got several burls from a supplier, myrtlewood, maple and a beautiful 70 pound ash, the first I've had. We cut the burls into blanks there to save space and weight. I'm sure that the infested wood came from one maple burl that was cut up into 9 or 10 blanks. I've rough turned 5 of them. The blanks and the rough turned pieces are wrapped in plastic and are in my freezer. To make sure, I'll zap them in the microwave when they're all rough turned. I'll keep close watch on the rest of the burls hoping that none are infected.

Wally

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Bill Hale, Woodspinner

>Wally

All of this thread has many good ideas.

Freezing is a good idea for small pieces if you have the room. The mentioned pesticides are good in the plastic bags. I do put mine in the open for a while after the bag.

I have never tried the dry ice and vacuum but it sounds great if you can get the dry ice.

Many times I have had critters live through a microwaveing.

Thanks See you this Fall

Good turning and be safe

Bill

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Robert Savit

>It must be that time of year. I discovered powder post beetles in two slabs of maple burl I got from Oregon. I talked to a friend of mine who is an exterminator. He recommended Timbor, a fairly non-toxie borax product. It's a powder, you mix it with water and apply. It will either soak in far enough to kill them, or it will get them when they chew out again (possibly in a year).

Bob Savit

Re: Treatment

Gil Milone

>Turn to finish size and cook it in the oven at 160 for a couple hours. This will kill all larva. I just sent a load of maple to the kiln to have them kill the ppb's.

-Gil

Re: I've Got Bugs....

Mike Sloan

>I have heard, but don't know that it is true, that powderpost beatles are extremely wood species specific. If true, then your maple powderpost beatles would not be interested in any other species of wood. Can anyone confirm this as fact, or debunk as myth?