Insect Holes

[lowpolyjoe]

I know these questions are pretty common and i've read a bit about them in other threads, but the answers seem case-dependent so i was hoping for some feedback on my particular board.

This board was about 6/4 when cut on my sloppy DIY chainsaw mill.  I believe it's white pine.  It air dried in the shade for i think almost 3 years.  Then it was stacked in my garage for maybe 6 months.  I started planing it a few days ago with plans to make it the seat part of a bench for my wife.  Lots of insect tracks showed up as seen in the pic.   

I have not noticed new sawdust in the exit holes since planing, but it's only been a couple of days.  After reading a thread i went to check and I do see what i think is 'frass' (?) in some of the horizontal tracks.  Are these critters still active?   How long would i have to wait to see fresh sawdust (i've read widely varying suggestion from a day to a month) and how obvious is that sawdust when it shows up?

This project was targetting a $0 budget so i don't really want to buy the borate solutions or whatever they're called.  I don't really care if the critters stay in the wood and in a few years the bench needs to be junked... but i don't want to put this bench on my deck and have the insects migrate into my deck boards (or worse, my house).  Is that likely if these guys are still active?




Thanks a lot,
Joe

[WDH]

If it is pine, likely flathead borers.  They can hang around in the there for a long time.  Lyctid PPB's, the hardwood scourges, do not infest pine, so you are OK there.  At some point, the flathead borer larvae mature, bore out, and they are gone for good.   Patience grasshopper  .  Or a kiln to cook their gooses (old saying). 

[lowpolyjoe]

Thanks for the info.    It's been a bit over a week and I don't see any indication of sawdust anywhere.   But I switched around my use of the lumber for my current project and I was able to saw off and discard probably 80%+ of the area with the holes in it.   I will be watching the remaining holes closely

Would type of finish impact lifecycle of any remaining bugs?    I'm looking for an outdoor finish, maybe epoxy or valspAr I think it's called?