trimacar Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 My recently acquired 1910 Overland has wood boring beetles and they are actively eating the driver seat of the car. I've read something about Borate to treat the wood, I don't know anything about what Borate is, though I see some products online.. Anyone else on the forum have this issue, and if so, how did you deal with it? Darn wooden body cars! Thanks David C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 How to Get Rid of Powderpost Beetles The first thing to do in powderpost beetle treatment is to reduce the wood's moisture content to less than 20% moisture. Moisture meters can be used to determine the moisture level in the wood. Central heat, vapor barriers, and adequate ventilation can help control moisture. Rough-cut lumber should be dried in a kiln to kill all stages of the beetle. Reducing moisture may not be enough to control powder post beetle infestations completely. Sanded and varnished wood will not be as attractive to adult powderpost beetles. They can not penetrate or find cracks and crevices in the wood surface to deposit their eggs. Don't store valuable items in sheds and barns. Wood-boring beetles are common in these areas. Infested furniture unfinished (unvarnished, not painted, not waxed, or not sealed) can be treated with Tim-bor or Boracare. Boracare and Timbor will prevent newly hatched larvae from entering the wood. Infested furniture that can not be treated with a product like Tim-bor and Boracare can be treated in fumigation chambers. Fumigation chambers are used to fumigate infested furniture. Look for pest control operators that are licensed for fumigations. If practical, remove infested wood. If not, use residual borate insecticides such as Boracare or Timbor. Due to its long life cycle (12-18) months in the wood, you may see emerging beetles emerge even after treatment. The eggs and coming larvae will come in contact with the insecticide to kill them. Recommended Borate insecticides for powderpost beetle treatments : Timbor is a powder that mixes with water. One l.5 lbs pouch is mixed with one gallon of water and sprayed to the infestation surface area. When sprayed, it penetrates the entire wood, where it will remain for several years. An alternative to Timbor is Boracare. Boracare is a liquid borate that penetrates faster initially than Timbor for the first few hours but is equal after that. Timbor is considerably cheaper per gallon to use. Note when using insecticides: Powderpost beetles' life cycles vary from 3 months to a year. Emerging larvae could be maturing, with adult beetles emerging for up to a year. If the wood is too dry (less than 15%), penetration depth with the Boracare may only occur to the top 1/4 inch. To solve this, spray the wood first with water to increase moisture. Fumigation may be advisable in severe powder-post beetle damage cases, mostly where other methods have failed or where the insects' rapid elimination is critical or desired. Fumigating is advantageous where it is hard to apply borate treatments such as cramped crawlspaces. A certified pest control operator must do fumigation with a fumigation license. Fumigation is non-residual and will not last. Because of this, fumigation will not prevent future re-infestation if the wood is exposed to adult powder post beetles looking to lay their eggs. Alternatives to fumigationdescribe the benefits and drawbacks of borate liquid insecticides instead of fumigation. Maybe this helps. dave s 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 A friend had a real estate agent buddy who was having a house tented and fumigated. For $100, my friend was allowed to park his car in the tented garage for the duration. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 SC38dls is spot on with the treatment. We have discussed this in the "Woodie" community several times and although it's a real pain, the treatment should solve your problem. One word of advice, without treatment the powder post beetles will not go away. The wood will look ok, but a sharp pointed probe will push right into the wood with little resistance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 45 minutes ago, trimacar said: My recently acquired 1910 Overland has wood boring beetles and they are actively eating the driver seat of the car. I've read something about Borate to treat the wood, I don't know anything about what Borate is, though I see some products online.. Anyone else on the forum have this issue, and if so, how did you deal with it? Darn wooden body cars! Thanks David C. Sorry for the issue- Hopefully, they have not yet begun to attack any adjacent areas or wood framing. I've heard about both Timbor and Boracare , and thankfully have no personal experience, having been warned by a cabinet maker who had seen the 1917 Franklin 9-A Touring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 OK thanks I'll pursue the chemicals mentioned. I plan to remove the seat to make sure they haven't gotten into the lower body pieces yet...thanks! Marty, thanks for bringing up the Franklin, another one I wish I had back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 16 minutes ago, trimacar said: OK thanks I'll pursue the chemicals mentioned. I plan to remove the seat to make sure they haven't gotten into the lower body pieces yet...thanks! Marty, thanks for bringing up the Franklin, another one I wish I had back!! Me too !!! but gone to a good home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old car fan Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Bleach, do it heavy, 1 night 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Boehm Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) Good advice from SC38dls. Don't store the infested seat in the same building with other wooden items you do not want infested. I acquired a powder post beetle problem with some infested rough lumber. When I figured out the problem I got rid of the infested wood. I treated other good lumber having just a few holes with Tim Bor. It worked. I did not want the bugs hopping over to my good lumber. I varnished some of my good rough lumber also to prevent infestation. My understanding is that Tim Bor has low toxicity relative to insecticides in general. Darn the bugs not wood body cars! The lumber mentioned above was ash destined for my woodie station wagon. Edited August 18, 2022 by Tom Boehm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) Thanks Tom and 46woodie but I was just curious so I looked up the solution and copied it from google. I’m not the wood worker in the family that’s my brother in San Diego. If I need something done in wood he does it. If he needs something done on the computer I do it. My work is easier than his but no where near as creative or satisfying. dave s Edited August 18, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31 LaSalle Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 7:13 PM, trimacar said: My recently acquired 1910 Overland has wood boring beetles and they are actively eating the driver seat of the car. I've read something about Borate to treat the wood, I don't know anything about what Borate is, though I see some products online.. Anyone else on the forum have this issue, and if so, how did you deal with it? Darn wooden body cars! Thanks David C. the results of ignoring termites///// 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcslr Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 growing up on a farm, powderpost beetles were always a possible issue. Used 20-mule team borax into a solution. about 2lb/gallon. Amish still use this. Works well. and is cheap. FYI - borax is good for ant control, and most insects - Boron is highly toxic to them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 A more eco-friendly, and computer guru endorsed way of getting rid of the pesky bugs would be interspecies breeding. Bill Gates is doing it with mosquitoes, and, eventually, the hopes of the Panama Canal eradication of the species, will finally be realized. All you need to do is take a shellac beetle, which excretes a sticky resin, with a wood bee, which minces good wood into paste, and the wood boring beetle and mate them repeatedly. After a time the genetics of the wood boring beetle should be eliminated, thus leaving a shellac producing bug which mixes it with wood paste, and should eventually harden into plastic wood. Find some carpenter ants and mix their genes in, and make them a shelter out of the plans for your seats. In a matter of centuries you should have a species of bug which not only poops seat wood, they also assemble it to conform to your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 On 10/25/2022 at 2:31 PM, Jack Bennett said: Bill Gates is doing it with mosquitoes I heard Gates is trying to develop a sleepless mosquito. Every time the current ones wake up they do something completely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wascator Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Wonder if a good freeze at 0 degrees F would kill them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 1 hour ago, Wascator said: Wonder if a good freeze at 0 degrees F would kill them? I think it does, but has to be for a couple of weeks from what I hear…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old car fan Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Nope,I have put barn beam mantles up.seams like they sleep till warm.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 On 10/26/2022 at 4:41 PM, 60FlatTop said: I heard Gates is trying to develop a sleepless mosquito. Every time the current ones wake up they do something completely different. I am retired Army, and it has been guardhouse rumor for years that they want to develop a cyber soldier, I.e. one that never sleeps, I wonder if Gates is playing the micro-mini drone thing with a cyber mosquito that can carry diseases like malaria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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