What ate my wood?

[BmoreReclaimed]

The first pic looks like termite damage.  The second pic is powderpost beetles.

I agree 100%.

That definitely looks like carpenter bee trails. You can see the entry holes where they came in.

In my experience carpenter bees are going to be pretty large, 1/2" to 3/4" wide and perfectly cylindrical.  Like a drill bit, with a series of chambers. 

[Brad_bb]

So here's a question, after I saw and plane this Beech that was originally cut and milled 120 or so years ago, do I need to spray with a borate solution?  They are stacked in my pole barn with good air space between them while we are cutting the frame over the next 7 months. 

[SLawyer Dave]

Given that you did not find any evidence of a current infestation, you probably don't need to treat with anything, but it still might not be a "bad" idea if it won't effect what you want to do with the wood.

The first picture I agree is the result of termites, (the packed saw dust looking, lighter colored concretion is actually their "poop".  It appears that they were either drywood or dampwood termites, (as the concretion does not contain any soil that subterranean termites would necessarily mix in).   Dampwood termites only will exist in wood that is, (yes, you guessed it, Damp).  Once it dries out, they die or move on, so there is no continuing issue with them being able to reinfest.   Generally, drywood termites leave a loose granular small "pellet", (as distinguished from dust).  However, in wood as old as this, those pellets can end up getting concreted together from moisture out of the air.  If these were drywood termites, then they can reinfest, and spread to other wood in the vicinity.  However, again, given that you planked out the beam, and did not find any "live" activity, it appears that you are *probably* safe. 

If you are living in one of the areas of the country that is currently experiencing arctic conditions, set the boards outside single stack on edge and let them hard freeze a few nights.  That will also kill drywood termites without effecting the wood in any way.

The second photo is definitely evidence of "powder post beetles".  There are several species of beetle that can produce this type of activity, but without an actual insect to identify, they all get lumped together as they are all pretty synonymous with each other as to the damage and potential for reinfestation.  Powder post beetles will only infest dead and "dry" wood.  The beetle plants eggs in the wood, and then the larval stage is what actually chews its way through the wood, to later emerge from those small holes on the exterior to begin its adult stage of life.  So like drywood termites, any powder post beetle infested wood you bring around your shop, home or other wood, CAN spread to other "dead and dry" wood.  Powder post beetles are also harder to kill in their larval state.  Typically within the pest control industry, the only "sure" solution to powder post beetles is to fumigate the wood with methyl bromide.  That is why almost all wood brought into this country, or shipped overseas, (even the pallets), are required to be fumigated to stop the spread of these and other similar pests.

[Magicman]

I treated all of the "reused" wood that I used and am using on my Cabin.  I felt better safe than sorry.

[Brad_bb]

MM, you treatedwith borate or methyl bromide?  Those were some big grubs.  Do you know what they become?

[Cypress Man]

Again I say the first pic is carpenter bees drilled a hole and continued down the length of the beam. When you sawed the beam into lumber thats what it looks like. Thats way to big to be termites. The second pic is definitely powder post beetles.

[SLawyer Dave]

Again I say the first pic is carpenter bees drilled a hole and continued down the length of the beam. When you sawed the beam into lumber thats what it looks like. Thats way to big to be termites. The second pic is definitely powder post beetles.

You could be right, it is impossible to say just on a picture.  However, the reason I don't believe the first picture shows carpenter bee damage, is because of the lighter conglomerate, or concretion of wood particles, dust, pellets that are also shown in the boring tracts.  Carpenter bees are not considered a wood destroying organism.  No stage of their insect life "eats" wood.  Rather, adult carpenter bees will "chew" a round 1/2 inch hole into wood up to a couple of inches deep.  In this area, they seem to prefer cedar and pine, as I have seen little evidence of them in fir and hardwoods, (again I am looking at this from a structural perspective, I have no idea what these bees prefer out in the forest).  They deposit the resulting wood debris by spitting it outside the hole.  Then they deposit their eggs in the back of the hole.  When the eggs hatch, the young carpenter bees then fly out of the hole.

No where in this process does the carpenter bee deposit saw dust within their tracks that can form a conglomerate as these pictures depict.  That is why I am pretty confident that the damage was done by termites, because they do leave that exact type of small pellet that forms such conglomerates.  While termites are certainly smaller than carpenter bees, I have seen some huge damage routes carved out by both drywood and dampwood termites, that look almost identical to what is shown in the picture.  My money would actually be on dampwood termites, because those suckers can get huge, and I suspect the damage was quite limited to only one or a couple of spots in the log that likely had water intrusion into the log before it was milled.  Then the wood dried and ended any further infestation.

[CalebL]

Again......

www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5320268.pdf