Woodworm in a sofa

S

sam h

Registered User
Messages
1,249
We have a holiday home & on a recent trip, I noticed all the telltale signs of woodworm. So on the last day I used some stuff to treat it, it only dawned on me as I was treating it, I was only getting to a fraction of the wood work & I have no idea how badly infected the frame is. Long & the short of, after reading some previous threads on the subject, I reckon the sofa will have to go...but can anyone help with a few questions:

- How would it have gotten into the house? Could it have laid dormant in the wood for the last 10/11 years ? There was some damage caused to the woodwork last year by a pet. Could the pet have infected the sofa or could the exposed wood have allowed dormant eggs to hatch?

- Not planning to go back until the summer. Is that too long? Would it be worth a (long) trip in the next few weeks to get it out of the house?

- Anyone any recommendations on how to get rid of the sofa? I understand back yard burning isn't allowed....but would it be OK to just burn the wood (like a campfire!!). There is a recycling centre but, afaik, they charge for this sort of waste at a whopping 60c per kg - this is a VERY heavy sofa & 2 armchairs. I reckon they could easily weigh 400-500kg (thats a guess - I'm no good at these things!!
I'd normally advertise "free to take", but I don't want to pass the problem on to someone else.

- This is the only place I've noticed them, would I need to do anything else (problem is - there is alot of wood in the house....flooring only went down last year)

Any advice would be great. Thanks
 
OK - burning just the wood is almost certainly out of the question as I treated the wood so I assume the fumes would be toxic - forget I even suggested it !!:eek:
 
Don't panic too much - woodworm don't like varnished wood, and tend to attack older, untreated wood, especially if it got a bit wet at some stage.

No idea if you need to get rid of sofa, but I feel you are over-reacting a bit. And 400-500kg for a sofa and 2 chairs is definitely an overestimate :).

Why not monitor the situation and see if there is any fresh woodworm activity before deciding what to do?
 
Ok - maybe it's abit (!!) over - In fairness - it is a 3-1-1. I'm useless at guessing weights but it is the heaviest sofa I have ever encountered !!

We have alot of nice furnture there and the sofa is probably coming near the end of it life span - we reckon it would be safer to get rid rather than risk it spreading, especially as it can go 4-5 months without anyone there.
 
Hi
Woodworm is a general term for the larva of wood boring beetles
The adult could have came in a window,door ect and laid eggs.
The different types are specific to certain woods.
Because you are not in the house it would be probably be best to get pest control in to identify the type and treat accordingly.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top