Woodworm

Woodworm refers to the larvae of any wood-boring beetle, rather than one particular species. In the UK, the most common are the Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum), Deathwatch Beetle (Xestobium rufuvillosum), House Longhorn Beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus) and Powderpost Beetle (Lyctus brunneus).

Your woodwork could be infected without you even knowing it, and it may be years before you discover you have a problem. It’s a common mistake to think that woodworm only affects old historical properties but it can cause damage to newly constructed buildings as well.

If you find any of the below in and around your woodwork then you are most likely to have woodworm and it's time something was done about it.

Tell tales are:

• Small round holes in your woodwork

• Fine dust around the holes (Frass)

• Crumbly edges to boards and joists

• Finding the beetles around the house

Below are a few examples of the most common woodworm:

Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum)

Attacks softwood and sapwood by tunnelling along the grain which could cause collapsing of a structure.

Deathwatch Beetle (Xestobium rufuvillosum)

Attacks oak, ash, and chestnut that has suffered partial decay. They burrow to the centre of the wood so the damage is more serious inside the wood than at first glance. Mainly found in southern or central England.

Wood Boring Weevil

Euophryum confine and Pentarthrum huttoni, which have the typical "weevil" appearance of a long snout and short legs. They are not a primary cause of timber decay because they will attack only wood that is damp and partially decayed by wood-rotting fungi.

Powderpost Beetle (Lyctus brunneus)

The only common species in Britain is Lyctus brunneus, which belongs to the family Lyctidae and was imported many years ago from North America. Lyctus damage is restricted to "wide-pored" hardwoods with a high starch content, such as ash, elm and oak.

All forms of woodworm can be treated by spray, paste or in the worst case removal of parts of the timber and applying new timber in its place. The correct treatment can be specified by one of our experienced surveyors and then completed by our operatives quickly and easily with minimal fuss.