Q. A while ago we found woodworm in the frame of a newly purchased modern mirror hung in our bathroom. We returned it to the shop and had a refund. However some months later we have discovered woodworm in a wall cabinet in the same bathroom but on the opposite side of the room. We know that we will have to treat this or throw it away! Our main question is; How does the woodworm travel and how quickly, as we have another cupboard, wooden floor and there is of course the door to the bathroom and the skirting which is also wood. Do we need to treat all of these? Also how likely is it to spread through the house?

Submitted by: JP
 

A. There are many different types of 'woodworm' and the lifecycle of each varies. If we suppose the woodworm found in your wall cabinet is that of the Common Furniture Beetle, Anobium punctatum, then the life cycle for this insect, subject to conditions, is three to four years. Therefore if you saw the exit holes in the cabinet for the first time this year, it was actually infested in 2002/2003 - long before you introduced your new mirror. If the mirror was new then it is likely to be imported but a similar length of lifecycle for what ever the wood borer was in the mirror is to be expected.

'Woodworm' is a general term for many different types of wood boring beetles. As they are a beetle they are able to fly and this is how they spread. They are just as likely to fly in through an open window or doors so do not panic just because you have a couple of pieces of infested furniture. Do not go around blasting everything with an insecticide - it probably will not be necessary.

Take a look at our Manual 1 on the download section of our site;
http://specifypga.com/index.php/General-Content/Downloads.html
This should answer most of your questions.

Hope the above is of help.

Many thanks for your prompt reply. I'll stop panicking now!!  Will go and look at your Manual as suggested.

Thanks again
Jane Phillips