Slight woodworm problem

[silvershadow21]

Hi everybody,
i have noticed a small touch of woodworm on the section of wood that my internal electricity meter is attached to, which is inside my hall cupboard.

I havent noticed it anywhere else in the house at all, but have noticed the small beetles on occasion around were the cupboard is, usually between may to sept, which i believe is the time they hatch, and the tell tale small pot hole on the wood can be seen.
This could be from an old infestation, but i am not sure or anything.
What i did was to paint over the wood with emulsion Then paint, but i have since seen a few more holes emerge. in hindsight, i should have treated the wood, before i painted it.
Does paint not kill these wee buggers

should i be worried?

and what are my options. I thought possibly if i tiled over thissection of wood, they would die off, would this de the case

Does this spread like wildfire, cause i am thinking what about all the wooden floors, how do you know its not there either ?

cheers

 

[Amanda87]

you need to treat it with a wood worm insecticide, but if its been there for a few years then it will have spread.paint and tiles wont kill them they are under the surface.

 

[loady]

i would get it seen by a professional immediately....if you have the death watch beetle your in trouble if you dont get it sorted....they will eat EVERY rafter in your house....dont leave it to fester.

http://www.safeguardeurope.com/applications/woodworm.php

 

[Amanda87]

if it has travelled then u will need to get it treated, when you come to see it and the survey sees that you have woodworm and it hasnt been treated then u will have to do it, plus woodworm travels like wildfire, id check your lofts ect, i no that my mum had to treat a house but she cant remember how much it cost.

 

[edogg]

It's all been said mate there is no such thing as a small woodworm problem get it seen to immediatley anything wood is food for them joists floor boards furniture everything can be destroyed in a couple of years.

edogg

 

[Mick]

lawsons sell a wood worm treatment for all wood surfaces you can either spray it on with one of them garden fence sprayers or paint it on

2-3 coats is usually enough.

but your problem is your house is finished how would you be able to check your joists without either taking up floorboards and ripping up carpet.

wood worm is a fooking nightmare your joists will rot and start to fall to pieces, they eat anything wood, i was doing a job a few years back and we removed the floor to find the joists had been eaten so bad they was falling apart in our hands fook knows how the old owners never went through the floor is a mystery.

watch out for dry rot aswell looks like spiders webs on the wood and again the wood will crumble this is one of the worst things you can find in a house and will spread rapid.

 

[severus]

A majority of houses built upto ther 70's will have had some form of insect attack so it is not uncommon

If possible remove the worm riddled board and replace it with a formaldahide (mayt be spelt wrong) treated board (mdf).

Whether you can remove the board or not closely inspect all the surrounding timber (stairs, floor , skirtings, doors etc) and treat with wood worm killer (cuprinol is quite good) make sure you you soak all bare wood and provide plenty of ventilation to allow the fumes to escape.

You will still need to check every couple of weeks or so for fresh holes.

As already said if left it will spread and could prove to be dangerous and costly.

If you are planning to replace carpets on timber floors take a good look at the floor and lifft up a couple of boards to check the joist etc

 

[silvershadow21]

thanks guys for all the reply s, its does seem confined to this one particular board, so i am in the process of, stripping back all the paint at the mo, to treat the wood with woodworm treatment(ronseal), that i got at B&Q.

Its the common furniture beetle, not the others

I am in a bottom flat that has laminate floors throughout, and i never seen anything at all when it was laid down, and i am not in a position to rip it all up just to look at the joists & floorboards, but i heed your concerns. Hopefully this is an isolated incident.

after i scrape off all the paint after using paint stripper, a will treat with the woodworm treatment a good 3-4 times, and see how it goes.

cheers everyone