Knowledgebase
Need help identifying wood damaging insect - not termite #877819
Asked July 18, 2024, 4:07 PM EDT
Hello. I have a log home located on plains, not in a forested area. There are one or more insects that are quickly causing damage to the wood. Two pest inspectors have said it isn’t termites, but they can’t tell me what it is. There appears to be two types of damage. One type is to the cut ends of the logs, and a sawdust residue is being left. The wood is soft now where this pest is doing damage. The other type of damage is to the side of the logs. Actually, even here there are two types of damage noted. One is a type of trail created near the surface of the wood. The other damage is round holes being bored into the wood. I have actually captured pictures of what looks like small bees coming/going from these holes. So far, two pest control services have been unable to identify and therefore treat for the pests that are quickly damaging my home.
Weld County Colorado
Expert Response
Hi Victoria,
Apologies for the delayed reply. Having ruled out termites, powderpost beetles are the most likely cause of this damage. Powderpost beetles refer to a few families of beetles (Lyctids, Anobiids, and Bostrichids) that burrow into decaying wood.
The bees you've observed have little to do with the problem. There are many native, solitary bees that nest in cavities excavated by wood-boring insects. If the wood has already significantly decayed, the bees can excavate their own cavities.
Similarly, powderpost beetles prefer wood that has already decayed and/or been exposed to moisture. If possible, try to reduce the moisture around this wood.
Wood that is painted or varnished will not be colonized by these beetles. If beetles emerge from painted/varnished wood, then it was likely infested prior to being painted/varnished.
Replacing infested wood is another option, but I'm not sure if that's an option for you.
More interventive strategies involve heat treatments and insecticides. Heat treatments and fumigation can kill the beetles, but those can only be performed by licensed pest control professionals. There are insecticides which can be sprayed on the wood (borates). The bottom of this fact sheet covers these options more in-depth.
Before investing in costly management strategies, I would get a 2nd opinion from the CSU Spur plant diagnostic clinic. Here is their contact information:
https://agsci.colostate.edu/agbio/plantclinic/contact-us/
I will also forward your images along to them and let you know if they get back to me before they reply to you.
Woops! Here is that link I meant to include. Look at the section just above "In Summary".
