Wood Destroying Beetles bore into the wood and lay their larvae. Evidence is small black holes with fine powdery substance coming out or galleries filled with powder and their larvae.

How do they get inside the home?

Through the weak spots of the home, those areas where the paint has peeled off or the vents, etc. Unsealed cracks in the stucco or areas that lack regular homeowner maintenance, paint and caulking.

How do we treat them?

There are several options:

As a primary recommendation, we can fumigate the entire structure with Vikane Gas which takes 5 days.

We can heat treat the whole structure. Click here for more info.

These methods do not leave a residual to keep them from coming back the next day. After a complete fumigation or heat treatment we recommend chemically treating all accessible subarea and/or attic framing with a 15% solution of Tim-bor and Bora-Care. This type of residual treatment will help deter possible future infestations.

There are also approved secondary substandard control measures. We can locally heat treat an infested area and also surface treat and drill and treat all visibly infested wood with Bora-Care or 15% solution of Tim-bor this is a residual chemical treatment and it protects against future infestations. The attic and subarea should also be treated with 15% solution of Tim-bor/Bora-Care. This is considered a local treatment. The area usually is masked with a blue dye to readily detect reinfestations.