Understanding Woodworm: Signs and Solutions
Have you ever been strolling along the strand and found a piece of driftwood riddled with holes as if someone had taken a drill to it, and wondered what caused the phenomenon? Have you noticed the same thing happening in the wooden walls of your home, or even in your wood furniture recently? If so, you are dealing with an infestation of woodworm. The culprit of all that drilling is a tiny creature that loves to dig its way through timber, making an unsightly mess and eventually destroying it if left unstopped!
According to our woodworm specialist, the creature isn’t actually a worm at all, but the larvae of an insect called the wood-boring beetle. The woodworm is a powerful driller that can dig its way through anything made of wood. If you are finding signs of them in your home, it’s because you have another problem; they are attracted to wood that contains a high moisture content, which makes it easier for them to chew through it. If your home is suffering from damp walls and other signs of moisture, it will be at risk of attracting a woodworm infestation. Damp proofing your house is the best way to make sure it never happens!
Woodworm have a longer life cycle than many other insects, so an infestation could go on for years at a time! When you consider that the woodworms began their journey through your wooden walls from outdoors and are only just now poking into your room, you can imagine how much damage has already been done to the interior of the timber, which is probably as riddled with holes as that driftwood was!
The adult female wood-boring beetles enter untreated or improperly treated wet wood via tiny cracks, then lay their eggs inside. About two weeks later, the larvae, or woodworm will hatch and begin eating through the wood until they reach an open surface like your damp interior walls, a process that can take them as long as two years.
When the worm knows it’s near the surface, it will pupate, transforming into an adult beetle, that will then emerge, mate, and begin the cycle all over again. Woodworm tend to be the most active during warm, wet weather, usually manifesting somewhere between the months of March and October.
The woodworm larva is usually around 2 to 6 millimetres long, with a creamy-white body that closely resembles a worm with a cylindrical shape. It’s very difficult to see them because they are quite tiny and spend their lives inside the timber. If you see tiny holes developing in your home’s woodwork, you should arrange for a professional woodworm survey as soon as possible before further damage can be done!
If your home is suffering from an infestation just call Damp Proofing Ltd on 020 7593 8030 during office hours or fill in the online form, we will run a survey, then recommend the best woodworm treatment to rid you of this destructive pest and put a stop to any future outbreaks!