powder post beetles

[Faron]

How long do I need to keep a stack of lumber above 130 degrees to kill powder post beetles?  I was thinking it was 8 hours, but have forgotten. 

[Tom]

I think the critical point is to make the center of the lumber reach 130 (or 160 depending on who you are talking to) and hold that long enough to kill eggs.  Holding it for 2 hours, I've heard, is sufficient but it might take 2 days to get the inside of the lumber to that temperature.

[Faron]

Thanks, Tom.  Couple of hundred board feet of oak that has been in storage too long is infected.  >:( I'll heat it up for a day or so, then cut a board and see if it is hot all the way through.  I planed it to 3/4, so that will help some. 

[Ironwood]

Drill a hole and put in a probe thermometer, bury the probe shaft all the way. It is better than the mentioned method and should give good results. I always err on the side of of over doing it, 200-250 degrees , I hate bugs.

[Don_Lewis]

The international regulations say the if wood is heated to 56° Celcius for 30 minutes, it will kill all the bugs. That is about 134° F. But you need to get it all the way through and temperature is one factor and air speed is another. The best approach is to drill at least three or four holes in the thickest, wettest part and measure the temperature. If you heat and hold it too long at too high a temperature and cannot keep the humidity at 100%, which is darn difficult for most people, then you'll end up with a lot of end check and damge. End coating doesn't do you any good in this case because the end coating is supposed to disappear at about 125°F.
If you don't have a tight well insulated chamber and an indirect heating system, use steam to heat the chamber.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

When Don mentioned end seal's inability to deal with sterilizing temps,
keep in mind that my favorite end seal will survive:  elastomeric
roof coating.    I use this on the logs before I saw them.  The dry membrane
is about like a shower curtain - acrylic rubber maybe 10 mils thick.  It won't
wash off or come off until the log rots away.

Costs about 10% more, but I always have it on hand and can buy it locally.

Phil L.

[asparagusn]

The microwave oven is great for small pieces. It will kill anything that is alive in there. I'm going to buy the biggest one I can find next week as I have a large amount of green wood to turn and will need it to dry the rough pieces. If getting it wet isn't a problem, I would use something like Tim-bor, a termite and fungus killer, to rid the boards of the bugs. I used it one my new house and on new lumber that I get. It will  permeate the wood and do its job on the bugs. Good luck.

[Tom]

Wecome to the forestry Forum, Aspargusn.

Show us some of your turnings.   Where, in this big state, do you turn your wood?

[Faron]

We heated our problem lumber in a box with a propane heater.  Used a thermometer and held it at 180 degrees for a couple of days.  I think I will make an area in the new shop to do this with in radiant in floor heat.