To speak to a woodworm specialist, contact Wise Property Care today and we will organise for our local team to contact you. You can also continue to read this page for help and advice on identifying and treating woodworm.

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IS WOODWORM A WORM?

Put simply: No. The property problem known as woodworm is caused by wood boring beetles.

There are five common types of wood boring beetles: Common Furniture Beetle, Death Watch Beetle, Wood Boring Weevil, Powderpost beetle and the House Longhorn Beetle. You will only see a wood boring beetle on their exit from the timber and after the damage has been done.

The issue is called woodworm because the damage to the timber is caused by the larvae of the beetles that wriggle around inside the timber, chewing it up, as they grow into adult beetles.

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HOW A WOODWORM INFESTATION BEGINS

Woodworm life cycle begins with the adult beetle that looks for somewhere to leave its eggs. This could be on a door or window frame, the end of a timber beam or timbers within an attic space. Here it will lay a clutch of eggs and once these eggs hatch the larvae will burrow its way into the wood where they can spend up to three years or more eating their way through the timber. When they transform into adult beetles they eat their way out of the wood to start the whole process again.

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HOW TO IDENTIFY WOODWORM

Tell tale signs to identify woodworm include:

• Small round holes in your woodwork similar to the holes in a dart board.
• Fine, powdery dust around these holes (this is known as frass).
• Crumbly edges to boards and joists.
• Adult beetles emerging from the holes or present around the house.
• Even if you can’t see any holes, you might also find frass escaping from the back or underside of old furniture. Again this suggests an active infestation.

To test if a woodworm infestation is active try wiping any frass away and re-visiting at a later date to see if any frass has reappeared. You can also try covering up the holes with a coat of paint . These holes will eventually reappear if you have an active infestation.

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WHEN DO WOODWORM EMERGE?

Typically adult wood boring beetles start to emerge between May & September to mate and begin the whole lifecycle again. However the damage caused by the larvae occurs all year round.

If you spot an increase in living or dead beetles in your property between May & September this could be a sign of an active infestation.

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WHY IS WOODWORM A PROBLEM?

Despite the fact woodworm larvae are tiny pests, an active infestation can still leave a vast network of tunnels in structural timbers. These tunnels can be enough to weaken beams, floorboards and other timber to a point that results in significant damage to a property.

Wise Property Care can treat woodworm problems before they cause significant damage to timber framed properties. If you believe your property has a woodworm infestation then click the links below to find out more about our treatment and survey offerings.