Woodworm insects are known to have between a two and five-year life cycle. Within this time, the larvae will hatch and then eat away the wood under the surface before re-emerging as beetles, mating, laying more eggs and then finally dying. The life cycle of the wood-boring beetle is normally always near completion before most property owners are even aware they have a problem. Through understanding the details of the woodworms life cycle we are able to treat the issue effectively and efficiently.
The life cycle sees woodworm beetles or wormwood as they have sometimes been called) live within the wood and timber and explains the journey to the surface where they can eventually be seen by the naked eye.
Stage 1
The woodworm life cycle begins with the adult female woodworm beetle entering small, natural cracks within the timber so that they can lay their eggs. These eggs are laid under the surface of the timber because it not only protects the offspring of the woodworm beetle, but also because the young woodworm hatch into an ideal feeding and breeding environment.
Stage 2
Once a few weeks have passed the eggs will hatch, and emerging from them is the woodworm larvae. This larvae will spend between two and five years within the timber feeding, eating their way through the wood. This obviously weakens the timber because of the amount of time all of the combined larvae spend eating through the wood. It’s at this point in the life cycle that the dust like frass is produced, frass being the waste produced by a woodworm as it bores its way through the wood.
Stage 3
After two to five years the larvae within the timber will pupate, moving towards the surface of the timber to create a pupal chamber where it will slowly develop into an adult woodworm beetle. Once the larvae has become a fully fledged woodworm beetle it will eat its way through the final layer of wood, emerging into the open. The small holes this process leaves are called emergence holes, and they are one of the most common signs of an active woodworm infestation. At this point, we can identify identify the exact type of woodworm, present in the timber from the shape of the adult beetles body.
Stage 4
After the beetle has emerged from the timber it will cause no more immediate damage. The woodworm beetles will be in their adult form at this stage, with the female beetle lifespan being from 10 to 14 days, and the male lifespan being only between 3 and 4 days. At this stage in their life, the male is focussed only on mating with as many female beetles as possible, who when they are ready burrow back into the timber to lay their eggs and start the cycle once again.
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 common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) in situ.
insects are known to have between a two and five-year life cycle. Within this time, the larvae will hatch and then eat away the wood under the surface before re-emerging as beetles, mating, laying more eggs and then finally dying.
The life cycle of woodworms can be divided into 4 stages: hatching, feeding on wood and emergence as a beetle, mating, and laying more eggs. Adult beetles can be spotted around May and August. After some time, the adult species start mating, creating more woodworms to feed on timber.
How Long Does Woodworm Treatment Take to Work? Woodworm treatments work instantly to kill woodworm, and eliminate eggs and larvae in the timbers. If woodworm are present on the surface, then treatments can be applied quickly and effectively.
Eventually, given enough time, sufficient timber is consumed that it starts to create significant woodworm damage, affecting the structural strength of the wood. In some instances this can result in floorboards crumbling away completely, joists breaking and other related structural issues.
What is woodworm? They are insects of the beetle family (Order Coleoptera), called wood eaters or xylophages, from the Latin xilo (wood) and fa*go (to eat).
It is the round exit holes that normally identify timber that has been subjected to beetle infestation. The females live for between 10 and 14 days whereas their male counterparts only live between 3 and 4 days.
Simply place your wood in an oven for three hours and you will be woodworm free! Larger pieces can go in a sauna if you have one. For most people, however, direct sunlight is a fine alternative. During summer, cover your larger pieces in airtight, black foil, and let them roast.
You can easily treat Common Furniture beetles with a brush, dip or spray application of a Permethrin-based concentrated woodworm treatment on all timbers affected by woodworm. As a precaution you should also treat any close by timbers to protect against future outbreaks.
Applying insecticides on the surface of the wood won't penetrate to the woodworm. Surface applied insecticides will penetrate the top one or two millimetres of the wood. It may kill some of the woodworm as they are leaving the wood, but won't reach the larvae hidden deep inside.
If your woodworm infestation is localised items of furniture then you can treat it yourself using an over the counter woodworm treatment solution. These store-bought woodworm killers will eliminate Common Furniture beetles using a fluid that usually contains permethrin as an active ingredient.
For many years, insecticides have proven to be beneficial. Woodworm killers or woodworm treatments are also the same. Permethrin, the principal component, paralyzes and kills bugs & wood boring insects inside your furniture.
The first and most obvious sign of active woodworm is frass. Frass is a fine, dust-like substance that looks a bit like sawdust. Frass is the discarded, chewed timber the adult beetle creates when exiting the wood, it is commonly found in and around exit holes where active infestation has occurred.
Woodworm can spread quickly and easily around your home, travelling to and from wooden and timber structures. Woodworm are often referred to as larvae of wood boring beetles which can cause infestations and when left untreated can spread quickly and easily across your home.
Yes, woodworm can come back after treatment if the underlying conditions that led to the initial infestation are not addressed or if the treatment was not effective in eradicating all the wood-boring beetles and their larvae.
Remove all the furniture and non-structural timber that has been infected by woodworm. This will avoid the infestation spreading in any way, as the beetles still in the timber won't be able to travel across your property to lay eggs elsewhere.
Woodworm can spread quickly and easily around your home, travelling to and from wooden and timber structures. Woodworm are often referred to as larvae of wood boring beetles which can cause infestations and when left untreated can spread quickly and easily across your home.
The adult beetle chooses these tunnels as they provide a safe space for the eggs to hatch. Once the eggs hatch, larvae emerge. The larvae spend up to four or five years in the wood, eating their way through the timber as they grow and creating more tunnels.
Woodworm beetles emerge during what is known as the 'woodworm emergence season' which is usually between April and September. Woodworm season usually begins around April, although this is very much dependent on the temperature. Typically when the warmer weather starts so does woodworm season.
Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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