Treated timber will shield furniture from beetles
The furniture beetle (anobium punctatum) is a wood-boring beetle. In the larval stage it bores on wood and feeds on it. An adult beetle is brown and does not feed, it just reproduces. The female lays eggs in cracks in the wood. For three to four years, the larvae eats the starchy part of wood grain.
The furniture beetle (anobium punctatum) is a wood-boring beetle. In the larval stage it bores on wood and feeds on it. An adult beetle is brown and does not feed, it just reproduces. The female lays eggs in cracks in the wood. For three to four years, the larvae eats the starchy part of wood grain. The adults break through to the surface as adults, making an exit hole and spilling dust, the first visible signs of an infestation.
Control measure
Infestations are usually a problem of old wooden houses built with untreated timbers. An infestation is diagnosed by small round exit holes on wood and fine wood dust around the holes. Infestations can be controlled by application of a residual insecticide such as permethrin to infected areas. Simple aerosol insecticide sprays will only kill the adult borer on the wing, but not the burrowing larvae.
Control measure
Infestations are usually a problem of old wooden houses built with untreated timbers. An infestation is diagnosed by small round exit holes on wood and fine wood dust around the holes. Infestations can be controlled by application of a residual insecticide such as permethrin to infected areas. Simple aerosol insecticide sprays will only kill the adult borer on the wing, but not the burrowing larvae.