The following article appeared in the Guardian Weekend on 10 January 2009.
WOODWORM - KNOW YOUR ENEMY
We recently chucked out an aged plant to discover the pine floorboard beneath it riddled with tiny holes. A timber and damp specialist confirmed woodworm and recommended treating the entire ground floor of our house. But our local builder said that he would simply treat the immediate area with Cuprinol or similar, and replace the damaged floorboard. The area beneath the floorboard appears unaffected, as does all of the oak furniture in the vicinity.
Bridget Bodoano, our DIY guru, says, "David Prince at Abbott Dampproofing (0800 3287080, abbottdampproofing.co.uk) says that knowing the life cycle will help you understand the situation. The eggs are laid by the beetles, and the hatched larvae burrow beneath the surface and eat their way through timbers, weekening the wood. At the end of the lifecycle, the larvae metamorphose into beetles, which then bite their way out and scuttle off. The beetles won't do any more damage to the wood.
Larvae hatching on treated wood will die before any more damage occurs, but by the time you see the holes, there can be up to five years worth of tunneling underneath your feet. It is, therefore, difficult to know the full extent of any damage, which is why spraying a larger area is normally recommended.
"However, having said that, Prince adds that infestations are usually localised, and while he thinks that treating the whole ground floor is a bit on the drastic side, he would advise treating the whole room where you have found evidence of woodworm - whats more, if the infested area is near an adjoining wall, you would be wise to consider treating that adjacent room, too.
The long life cycle also means that even after treatment has been carried out you must continue to be vigilant. According to Prince, woodworm likes areas where there is sunshine on the floor and enjoy damp timber that is rich in starch and sugar. Their tunnels usually follow the grain of the wood, which is why woodworm damage is often found in only a small number of floorboards.
