28-08-2012, 11:50 AM
Yes, dry and ventilation is the key in my experience, they do love sap wood, when I was sawmilling Douglas Fir was a favourite. As to woodworm treatment beware of some contractors! Spraying will not penetrate the heartwood unless it is rotten or already full of holes. A lot of plywoods are made from sapwood. For new timber installation Tanalized timber is the best. Unless timber is at a high MC content for a long period then most woodworm damage will not result in structural failure. If using homegrown timber from a sawmill sometimes you will see some large worm holes, these are mainly caused by the larva of the wood wasp, the wood wasp being a magnificent insect, it's parasite is the Ichneumon (excuse spelling) to watch the ichneumon do it's stuff is amazing, from the outside of the timber they can sense the vibrations being made by the wood wasps larva they then drill in to lay their eggs nearby, if you see an ichneumon with it's body arched up and it's oviposter in the wood then don't try and knock it off as it can kill them because their oviposter is barbed and cannot be withdrawn quickly.
Some folks think that the oviposter on the wood wasp is a giant sting, it's harmless although when in flight they tend to bump into you if you are around as their flight pattern is somewhat haphazard, we used to get loads of them at the sawmill, they would come in in the sawlogs, in the wild you will only see them in predominantly softwood woodland.
Lawrence.
Some folks think that the oviposter on the wood wasp is a giant sting, it's harmless although when in flight they tend to bump into you if you are around as their flight pattern is somewhat haphazard, we used to get loads of them at the sawmill, they would come in in the sawlogs, in the wild you will only see them in predominantly softwood woodland.
Lawrence.
