Q. How do I know if woodworm is active?

Submitted by: DT 

A. It is often difficult to ascertain whether or not a woodworm infestation is active by a visual inspection alone. Usually the only evidence that an infestation exists is the sight of small holes in the surface of a piece of timber - but are the holes old or new?

When evaluating whether or not a woodworm infestation is active one has to take into account a variety of information such as:

• What is the insect responsible? There are many different types of ‘woodworm’ – some attack seasoned timber while others are pests of the standing or freshly felled tree and require no treatment.

• Do the holes look old? Be careful because holes on vertical and undersides of a piece of timber will tend to remain clean but they will take on an ‘aged’ appearance.

• Is there any frass (bore dust) in or around the hole? Could be signs of recent activity but could also be frass dislodged due to the timber being knocked or as the result of foot traffic.

• Is there any documentary evidence of treatment ever having been applied? If there is evidence of previous treatment then provided it was carried out correctly failure is rare. It is possible to test wood for the presence of a previously applied preservative and to ascertain the type and amount present. PGA is able to offer this service.

Each of the above points could be expanded upon considerably and there are other pointers that an experienced surveyor will draw upon. A lay person however will have to make their own judgement but a simple monitoring trick is to stick paper over the part of the timber where you suspect activity. If the infestation is that of Common Furniture Beetle then this beetle emerges from the wood between late March and September. Therefore should any holes appear in the paper during this period it will indicate activity. Do not expect any holes to appear outside this period.