Best Woodworm Treatment

[Mark Hennessy]

The most recent encounter I've had with wood-worm were the little so-and-sos eating one of my bed legs - I'd previously thought central heating would mean that wood would be too hard and dry for them.

Out of interest; how old was the bed? I ask because it's possible they were in there from new - given how quickly wood is cut down and processed these days, it's fairly common to encounter them in new wood. They seem to be able to survive the kiln-drying process, and reasonably dry wood will slow them down but not necessarily kill them...

Please be really careful with the chemicals, folks. I'm not normally one to worry about this sort of thing, and perhaps I've fallen for Jeff Howell's view on this (the second link I posted), but either way please read the instructions and do it outside

Also, many modern centrally heated houses are surprisingly damp, mostly thanks to recent regs causing houses to become hermetically sealed boxes. Only recently are people waking up to the importance of indoor air quality, which obviously causes many other health problems along with high humidity levels. Our Victorian ruin might be draughty in the winter, but I'd rather be cold than suffocating. But that's getting really OT now :D

Incidentally, proof that I've "put my money where my mouth is": last week I bought home a 7 foot log from a nearby wood. I don't know what sort of tree it was, nor how long it had been since it had been felled. But, I'm fairly sure it's full of worm. It's currently standing in the kitchen, next to a load of really nice timber rescued from various skips over the years. Everyone at work is convinced my stock will be eaten and my house will fall down! I plan to use this log to make a scratching post/exercise platform for our 2 new kittens - I assume they'll prefer real bark to rope, but we'll see (OT again, but when it's done I might start a thread with pictures for the benefit of the many cat people amongst us)

I'm really enjoying the tips about coping with and restoring affected sets, BTW. No-doubt I'll have one to deal with one day...

Many thanks,

Mark