Woodworm advice ?

S

sweetpeas

Guest
Hi,

I have a bit of a problem with woodworm .

It is not that bad i have been told, with various spots on joists along with a little in attic as well.

I have been quoted 1k down to 500euro from the pros to do the job .With money tight i was maybe thinking of doing it myself especially when i have been told it is not that bad by the pros themselves. It is a peace of mind thing now so just want to take care of it.

I was just wondering if anybody has embarked on this job themselves and how did they do it ?

Thanks for your help

w
 
I treated an entire roof structure with Protim myself a number of years back. I did so by hoarding empty 'Mr. Muscle' / 'Dettol' spray bottles, rinsing thoroughly, drying and filling with the above product and spraying. Beware that fancy sprayers that you buy in DIY stores probably won't work (for long) as the chemical eats rubber seals. The spray bottles work fine though. There are various anti - woodworm products available, but Protim is pretty much the standard.

The problem with woodworm is that, by the time you see the 'flight holes' in the wood it's kind of too late in a way ... the larvae is already in the wood and the insect has flown off to have a pint before croaking it. The key is to break the cycle, so I would be inclined to spray about a metre radius around any sign of infestation. As woodworm do not tend to go for sound wood, would you by any chance have a case of dry rot? Did you move some old furniture up to your attic that may itself be infested?

If all of the above sounds like too much hassle, you can grab a small tin of the Protim for a few euro with a nozzle, and just squirt it into the holes. Personally I'd be inclined, perhaps being an extremist, to do the whole roof at the first sign of them. They can do enormous damage in a very short time.

Worst one of all is the 'Deathwatch beetle', they live for something like 9 years. They usually give the game away through their mating call ... which is banging their heads off the wood. Mad or what?!

Regards,

Tony.

Ps: As an afterthought wrap up well and use a respirator if doing a major job yourself, and be careful of open water tank in the attic / electrics. Pretty toxic and flammable stuff. Btw €500 - 1000 for a pro. job sounds reasonable enough a price, especially if it's guaranteed for 10 years or whatever. Sounds like the price has dropped since I last checked!
 
slightly off topic but I am reminded of my all time favourite joke.

Did you hear about the Kerry woodworm?
It was found dead in a brick.


I'll get me coat.
 
Thanks WicklowMan,

Have'nt heard any heads banging yet !!!!

No, I have'nt any dry rot nor did i move furniture to the attic. It is just holes from woodworn in a few spots here and there .

I think i will do it myself and get some of that protim stuff . Can it be bought in any diy store ?

Thanks
w
 
I treated my place a few years back with [broken link removed]. I used one of those backpack garden sprayers as the lance was very handy for reaching into the edges of the loft. The chemicals did affect the seals, but it lasted long enough to do the job, and I had the entire attic and first floor joints to treat. If I had used the spray bottles, I'd have looked like Mr. Muscle afterwards!

You'd be better off going to a proper builders providers to get the Protim. I'd recommend treating the entire attic while you're at it. Spot treating where there are signs of activity is fine, but the infestation is likely to have spread, and it's only when the larvae mature and emerge from the wood that the activity becomes visible.

Good time of year to be doing it now when the temperature in your attic will allow you to wear the appropriate layers of protective clothing without boiling up! Respirator is a must using these chemicals in a confined space.
Leo
 
Does woodworm cause much more than cosmetic damage in general? You can check for woodworm activity by spreading newspaper under the joists and checking for wood dust collecting.

I discovered what seemed like a lot of woodworm in my joists but further examination showed that there was just some cosmetic damage. Permethrin is the usual chemical treatment for woodworm and frankly I would be very cautious about spraying this around the place. http://www.askjeff.co.uk/woodworm.html has some more info that may help.
 
I checked the internet re woodwrm in attic timbers recently.
They only attack sapwood i.e the outer layer of the tree, they do not attack the heartwood i.e center portion of the tree. There are building regulations regarding the amount of sapwood allowed in roof construction. You will notice the holes only appear in certain spots and not in others indicating the sapwood infestation. I think it is unlikely that serious structural damage will be caused by woodworm alone.
 
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