A Clever Way to Check for Active Woodworm
Have you active woodworm infestations? If you’ve applied woodworm treatments yourself, how do you know if they’ve worked or not? There’s a clever way to find out, but you can only do it during the colder months of winter – so with the first frosts hitting, now’s your time. Woodworm, like many other insect pests, go dormant in the winter, and you can take advantage of that. Find out if your treatment worked, or if you need to call us for something that reaches deeper.
First, locate the boreholes they’ve left behind; these are almost certainly what alerted you to the possibility of woodworm in the first place. They can be in joists, beams, furniture, skirting boards, or any woodwork.
Then, get some masking tape – this is the light, paper-y tape that you use when painting and decorating. Apply a little bit of masking tape over each borehole (or longer strips to cover them all, depending on how the holes are placed). Smooth them down firmly – use the handle end of a paintbrush or a similar tool to make sure the tape is as flush to the surface as it can be.
We do not advise paint or varnish for this as it needs to be removed for treatment.
And now sit back and wait for a few months. As the weather warms up into the spring, you’ll see that the tape has been broken by an emerging woodworm beetle. You’re very unlikely to see the beetle itself, but it can’t get out without breaking the tape, so you’ll know if it’s been there. If it reaches May or early June and there’s no sign of breakage, You have no active woodworm in that spot.
If, however, you see a hole or holes in the tape where one or more beetles emerged, you still have woodworm. You should give us a call immediately on 01 4511795 or fill out our contact form, and someone will give you a call back as soon as possible!
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