PCA’s recommended approach to treating Woodworm
The control and eradication of wood destroying insects in buildings is based on an understanding of the nature and characteristics of each beetle or weevil. This must be complemented by knowledge of the building, its construction, the clients needs and any heritage considerations.
Some wood destroying insects such as bark boring beetles will require no intervention while wood boring weevil is best tackled by controlling water ingress and wood rot.
Other types of wood destroying insects such as Common furniture beetles may be more difficult to control by changing the environments, but can very safely and effectively be treated with the use of targeted professionally applied wood preservatives.
Insects such as the Death watch beetle may be best tackled with a combined approach to both moisture control, engineering and the use of targeted chemical preservatives, while insects such as the house longhorn beetle, though relatively rare, will probably require extensive and detailed investigation followed by timber repairs and the use of chemical preservatives.
Guidance of the best approaches to the management and control of wood destroying insects can be found in the PCA best practice guide.