Wood Preservation (Wood Destroying Organisms) - Kentucky Pesticide Safety Education (2023)

FAQs

What are 5 wood destroying organisms? ›

These include the termites (order Isoptera), powderpost beetles (Lyctidae), false powderpost beetles (Bostrichidae), deathwatch beetles (Anobiidae), carpenter ants (Formicidae: Formicinae), and the oldhouse borer just mentioned.

Commonly used wood preservatives are toxic. Some can irritate and burn the skin, eyes, nose and throat and cause dizziness and muscle spasms. Excessive contact, particularly with some concentrates, can cause short-term, long-term, or permanently damaging effects.

Wood Destroying Organisms (WDOs) are organisms that impact the structural integrity of wood. These include carpenter ants, termites, wood-boring beetles, and dry rot. While WDOs can come in many shapes and sizes, they all damage wood through their normal life cycles and can lead to significant damage and expense.

If you suspect your wood is infested with woodworms or wood-boring beetles, treating the wood with a borate treatment is the most effective way to kill the active pests. Remove finishes from wood that has been painted or sealed before treating. Chose a product that is borate-based for your wood treatment.

Carpenter ants are capable of damaging any wood within which they nest. Carpenter ant infestation can become severe when left untreated, and, in some cases, a colony of carpenter ants can develop satellite nests.

Dampwood and drywood termites are mostly prevalent in southern states such as Tennessee and Kentucky. Like the name suggests, subterranean termites house in the soil and create tunnel systems. To access feeding sites, they build mud tunnels leading above ground.

Wood preservatives containing chromated arsenicals include preservatives containing chromium, copper and arsenic. Since the 1940s, wood has been pressure treated with chromated arsenicals to protect wood from rotting due to insect and microbial agent attack and wood-boring marine invertebrates.

Groundwater Pollution

Use of wood preservatives has been cited as a source of pollution in surface and groundwater in many parts of this country. Testing has documented contamination in public and private wells at levels exceeding health advisories.

Cancer. Creosote, pentachlorophenol, and arsenicals are all chemicals that constitute wood preservatives. The US Environmental Protection Agency categorizes the first two as probable carcinogens, and they label arsenicals as concrete carcinogens.

Wood borers are a group of insects that eat trees, acorns and nuts. These insects create holes in wood when they exit as larvae, but don't structurally damage the wood. Common types of wood boring insects include metallic wood borers, wood wasps, bark beetles and long-horned beetles.

What does WDO mean in real estate? ›

Your WDO Inspection – A WDO is an Inspection for Wood Destroying Organisms. This inspection is more commonly referred to as a termite inspection. It's called a WDO because termites are not the only wood destroying organisms in the world. The WDO inspector is trained to look for things that we are not.

Applying a 1:1 mix of white vinegar and water to the wood surface will clear woodworm infections. While they find it unpleasant, it does not kill them. However, permethrin (which usually comes as a concentrare) kills woodworms at all life stages.

Systemic insecticides applied via trunk injection, basal bark sprays, or as a soil drench are effective against flatheaded borers and they may be the only practical method for treating tall trees.

Difference Between Borers and Termites

Borers cause the most damage during the larvae stage and make their nest within the timber furniture in your house. Whereas, termites build their nest elsewhere and return to the infested timber furniture whenever they are hungry.

Carpenter ants and termites both present a risk to your home, but while either can cause considerable damage to wooden structures, the termite will invoke significantly more damage than the carpenter ant and will accomplish it in a shorter period of time.

Carpenter Ants are a main source of food for young grouse and pileated woodpeckers. Smaller woodpeckers, along with some songbird species, also eat ants. Now for some not so well-known animals that eat ants: toads, frogs, lizards, and at least one species of salamander like to eat ants!

Contrary to popular belief, carpenter ants do not actually eat the wood. Rather, they hollow it out in order to nest inside, which may result in structural damage. Also unlike termites, carpenter ants generally take years to cause significant damage.

Subterranean termites are much more dangerous because they cause more significant damage than drywood termites. Their colonies can develop up to 1 million strong. Subterranean termites have a soft white body with no eyes. They are typically no longer than a centimeter.

Termite droppings typically have the following characteristics: 1mm pellets – often look like piles of salt or pepper. Black, brown, and grey in color depending on the wood eaten by termites. Pellets will be pushed out of 'exit holes' in the nest to create pile-ups.

What are the three chemical used in wood preservation? ›

These include copper HDO (Bis-(N-cyclohexyldiazeniumdioxy)-copper or CuHDO), copper chromate, copper citrate, acid copper chromate, and ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate (ACZA). The CuHDO treatment is an alternative to CCA, ACQ and CA used in Europe and in approval stages for United States and Canada.

The main types of wood preservative pesticides are: 1) oil-borne, 2) water-borne, and 3) fumigants.

The preservatives may be water solvable salts or oil solvable salts or volatile base salts. Examples are zinc chloride, coal tar, creosote oil, and creosote petroleum blends respectively.

Thus, timber structures are also subject to decay due to a number of biological factors such as bacteria, fungi, insects and molluscs, and due to such non-biological factors as weathering, wetting and drying, chemical exposure and atmospheric con- taminants. Timber is as well susceptible to fire.

To summarize, environmental factors such as tree species, temperature, water and nutrient conditions, insect boring, and forest disturbance affect the relative dominance of white-rot and brown-rot fungi in deadwood, and as a consequence, affect the decay type of deadwood on a variety of spatial scales.

The major health concern is that daily, long-term contact with arsenic leached from CCA-treated wood might lead to an increased risk of lung, bladder, skin, and other cancers or other health effects.

The amount of leached chemicals generally drops quickly within a short distance from where soil is in contact with the treated wood. If you follow safety precautions around treated wood, you should not have any health effects as a result. However, you should avoid exposure to the smoke or ash from burning treated wood.

The EPA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) believe that it is safe to leave old pressure-treated wood in place, stating that the toxic arsenate levels will be minimal as long as the treated wood receives a coating of pigmented, wood-penetrating oil sealant annually.

The main health risk is occupational asthma caused by inhalation of wood dust. Substances such as wood dusts and resins, solvents, paints, varnishes and strong detergents however, will also damage the skin. This may lead to skin soreness, blotches, cracking, itching and blisters.

After termites, wood-boring beetles are the most significant wood-destroying insects. Female wood-boring beetles lay their eggs on wood that has not been seasoned or processed. However, some species do choose seasoned wood.

Which wood infesting insects are the most destructive? ›

Termites cause more structural damage in the United States than any other insect. Subterranean species are the most destructive. They're found throughout the United States, but the Southeast and California have the heaviest infestations and sustain the most damage.

Termites. Subterranean termites – also known as white ants – cause the most damage to timber in NSW. They live underground or in mounds, and build mud tunnels so they can access timber to feed on the cellulose it contains.

DTD is an acronym for Document Type Definition, a document that describes the tags and hierarchy structure for a particular set of XML data such as RETML, the RETS DTD that relates to real property listings.

Although mold is a type of fungus that can grow on the surface of wood, it does not acturally consume the wood, so it is not categorized as a wood destroying organism.

Termite inspection costs range from $50-$280 and typically cost $100, according to 2022 data from HomeAdvisor. Many home inspectors offer termite inspections as part of a package. Termite inspections purchased along with a general home inspection may be cheaper than standalone termite inspections.

Wood Destroying Fungi. The sapwood and heartwood of the most tree species is susceptible to decay. Decay fungi may grow inside the wood or appear on surfaces as fan-shaped patches of fine, threadlike, cottony growth or root-like shapes. Color may range from white through light brown, bright yellow, to dark brown.

Flight holes between 3mm and 7mm. Infests seasoned and partly seasoned softwoods; pine, spruce and fir most susceptible.

The usual disinfectants, including most commonly used bleach solutions, have little effect on the parasite. An application of hydrogen peroxide seems to work best.

Treating woodworms with vinegar is effective if you don't want to kill the larvae. The solution will only force them to leave the furniture. If you are searching for a non-toxic woodworm treatment, this is your choice. Mix white vinegar with water in 1:1 proportion and spray it on the furniture.

What is the best wood worm killer? ›

What kills woodworm? The most common insecticide used to control woodworm is Permethrin though growth inhibitors are used by some manufacturers. Permethrin is found in most woodworm killers.

Infestations often go unnoticed until they exit the wood through tiny holes. In this post we'll take a look at four types of wood-infesting beetles: Deathwatch Beetles, True Powderpost Beetles, False Powderpost Beetles, and Old House Borers.

Fumigation - ProFume is a specialist fumigation treatment. It is a gas fumigant with the active ingredient Sulfuryl Fluoride. This fumigation process effectively eliminates all life stages of wood boring insect infestations.

The adults are harmless; the larvae do all the damage. Since the larvae are inside the wood when they eat, they can be difficult to control. Products that contain borate are effective against wood-boring beetles because they penetrate wood, killing the larvae. They also linger to prevent another infestation.

Wood Borers

These insects are a group of insects that eat nuts, acorns, and trees. They don't structurally damage the wood but they create holes in the wood when exiting as larvae. Some common types of wood borers are long-horned beetles, bark beetles, metallic wood borers, and wood wasps.

So, what exactly is a wood-boring insect? A wood boring insect is a common term that covers many species of beetles that as larvae eat and destroy timbers. Wood boring insects are usually found in areas within a property that are poorly ventilated with a high humidity such as for example a sub floor crawl space.

Wood Infesting Insects

These include roundheaded wood borers, flatheaded wood borers, and shothole borers, also called powderpost beetles. The legless, white larval stages of the first two types can be found while splitting logs. Piles of sawdust appear from small holes in logs infested by powderpost beetles.

Carpenter Ants

While termites have wings of equal length, the carpenter ant's front wings are longer than the back wings. Rotting wood gives carpenter ants the perfect entry point into your home. You'll often find them in basements or around rotting wood near window sills or leaky pipes.

What animal can destroy wood? ›

Wood destroying organisms are plants or animals that destroy wood that we use to build structures, structural components or furniture. Termites, powderpost beetles, wood-boring beetles, carpenter ants, and carpenter bees are just a few examples of insects that will attack structures.

What chemical kills termites? There are two main chemicals used to kill termites—fipronil and hexaflumuron. Fipronil is the specially designed chemical used as an active ingredient in many different liquid termiticides. In high enough concentrations, it can kill termites on contact.

A woodworm is the wood-eating larva of many species of beetle. It is also a generic description given to the infestation of a wooden item (normally part of a dwelling or the furniture in it) by these larvae.

The most damaging animals that attack wood en structures are the termites. The beetles are the next most important group of insect which attack wood.