There may be a kind of Powderpost Beetle attacks WO heartwood...

[WDH]

Saw fresh felled logs and spray the green lumber with a borate solution. 

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

It would be extremely rare to find these being PPB, as this insect does not like really wet wood.  It prefers 35% MC and lower, but green oak is 75% or so.  Incidentally, the PPB has holes that are 1/32" to 1/16" in diameter.  They are exit holes at the end of their life.  Their life cycle is often one year.  So again, the idea that they are in the log or green lumber does not fit their life style.

Now, any insects are mainly in the outside of lumber, not just PPB, so a brief heating period is often enough to kill them in the kiln.  Keep the RH high during heating to avoid drying the lumber during the eating cycle--checking will be terrible if the RH is much below 100% RH.  Using borate on fresh lumber poisons the outer layer (if it does not rain on the lumber) which does provide protection, but again, the PPB cannot do much damage in a few weeks.  The ambrosia beetle is much quicker however.  But the ambrosia beetle needs a source of wood waste for pbreeding, so a neat and tidy log yard and lumber yard should be good protection too (if the logs did not sit in the woods for a long time).

Since borate is a surface treatment (and adding a water solution to partially dry wood will make checking much worse), the insects are likely too deep for you to have any effect on them at this point.  But even at 115 F, their activity has slowed, as it is just too hot for them.  So, at this point, there is not much to do, except maybe try 117 or 118 F, but do not let the RH or EMC go under the schedule value.

[Cazzhrdwd]

I'm sure its the ambrosia beetle. It sure is a delicate balance, between getting good logs from loggers to timing the lumber sawing so I can put dead green lumber in the kiln, not wanting it to air dry, now having to deal with these critters.

I talk to a large sawmill, in the summer they try to saw everything quick, but they do deal with them constantly through the summer.

[WDH]

The ambrosia beetles pester me as well.  Another advantage of spraying the borate on green, ring porous hardwoods like oak, hickory, ash, elm, and pecan is that your air drying stacks are protected from initial PPB infestations before you kiln dry the wood.  My wood can air dry 6 - 9 months before kiln drying, and I do not want the chance of PPB's getting a head start even though the sterilization cycle in the kiln will kill them later. 

2 1/2 years ago I made a 8/4 white oak bar top for a lady.  75" x 37".  Weighted a ton.  It was made pre-kiln for me, so it was air dried, then acclimated inside.  Two weeks ago I got a call from the Lady saying that there were little holes appearing in the bar top  :(.  I knew immediately that it was PPB.  It took 2 1/2 years for them to mature and begin leaving the wood. 

So, I got a sheet of 3/4" plywood and cut it to the bar top dimensions to replace the white oak top as a temporary measure.  I have the white oak bar top now, and I will put it in the kiln in a week or so after the current charge is ready for sterilization. 

I hates PPB's. 

[YellowHammer]

Well, that is not good news and a useful reminder to all of us.

[WDH]

One of my worst nightmares is to get that fateful call about little piles of sawdust or little holes appearing in some of the wood or a piece of furniture that I sold  . 

[Cazzhrdwd]

I need to dry a 4000 bdf load every month of FAS red oak. It should take me a week to saw the logs so I'll have a week of logs sitting and a week of boards on sticks, think they'll do any damage in that time?

Oh plus three weeks in the kiln until I can kill everything with heat.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

The kiln will be hot enough to kill the insects and eggs if it gets to over 150 F for a few days.  The log storage time and lumber storage time is so short, that even if you get ambrosia, it will not have time to do any damage.

However, dry and eliminate any wood debris from the log and lumber storage areas, as that debris is the best breeding area.

[Cazzhrdwd]

Thanks Gene, that's what I was hoping.

[Dough_baker]

The ambrosia beetles pester me as well.  Another advantage of spraying the borate on green, ring porous hardwoods like oak, hickory, ash, elm, and pecan is that your air drying stacks are protected from initial PPB infestations before you kiln dry the wood.  My wood can air dry 6 - 9 months before kiln drying, and I do not want the chance of PPB's getting a head start even though the sterilization cycle in the kiln will kill them later. 

2 1/2 years ago I made a 8/4 white oak bar top for a lady.  75" x 37".  Weighted a ton.  It was made pre-kiln for me, so it was air dried, then acclimated inside.  Two weeks ago I got a call from the Lady saying that there were little holes appearing in the bar top  :(.  I knew immediately that it was PPB.  It took 2 1/2 years for them to mature and begin leaving the wood. 

So, I got a sheet of 3/4" plywood and cut it to the bar top dimensions to replace the white oak top as a temporary measure.  I have the white oak bar top now, and I will put it in the kiln in a week or so after the current charge is ready for sterilization. 

I hates PPB's.

Hello WDH

Have you tried this kind of "borate tubes" on finished furniture. It may be a sound solution, just drill a hole, inject enough borate, then seal with wood plug. I have bought some and try, however, I dont know the result after another PPB life cycle, that is 1-2 years.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HHS73O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

May I ask, which wood coating did you use on that oak tabletop?

[WDH]

Dough,

I have not seen that product.  Interesting.

The customer used 100% mineral oil and paraffin wax to finish the top.  The mineral oil penetrates the wood, and the wax gives he surface a silky feel. 

The kiln heated to 150 degrees for 24 hours or more will solve the problem, but everyone does not have a kiln.  Thanks for the info, Dough.

[SwampDonkey]

I had ambrosia show up in green white pine, they only went into the sapwood though. Never noticed them until months later as it sat stacked and undisturbed in the barn. I have a few pictures on the forum. Up here I would say ambrosia is far more prevalent than PPB. I have an ambrosia beetle exit hole with tailing fungal stain to remind me of, on the breast beam of my loom. I built the loom of maple, as most know on here by now. 

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

The borate gel product mentioned would require 100 holes, 3/8" diameter (or 60 1/2") and 1-1/4" deep (bottom side of the table that is 8/4 x 37 x 75).  To avoid excessive weakening, the holes would have to be plugged with a wood dowel too.  I wonder...when the holes and the liquid dry out, considering a table that will reach 6% MC in the wintertime, if the plugs will loosen.

However, a bigger issue is the damage that has occurred by the time you see the exit holes- - before you treat.  For a year or two the insects have been eating tunnels in the wood.  So, the damage could be quite severe.  Treatment with heat or a chemical must be done after determining the effect of the strength loss.

I note that this product seems to be especially designed for termites and is shown being used where the other remedial treatments cannot get to.  Seems like it is perfect for that.

[YellowHammer]

The kiln heated to 150 degrees for 24 hours or more will solve the problem, but everyone does not have a kiln.  Thanks for the info, Dough.

The end results of a successful kiln sterilization cycle, bugs getting the hot foot and making a run for it, but getting cooked before they could get out.
This one never had a chance 8) and was turned into charcoal. 
YHy

[logboy]

I noticed the same thing today in my kiln. I was checking a load of white pine I put in last week, including some thick live edge. I noticed some tiny piles of sawdust on a couple pieces, and then the dead bugs next to them. They only made it a half inch or so from their holes. My kiln is currently running around 110 degrees. Is that really hot enough to kill them?