Powderpost beetles (powder post, wood, etc.) are wood destroying pests that can cause extensive damage to the wood members of homes as their larvae feed on the wood. Treatment of powder post beetle infestations involves a method of killing the larvae as they feed.
Powderpost beetle larvae can take several years to mature, feeding on the wood as they do so. This feeding cycle is what causes damage to your home. You cannot see the larvae but they are hard at work, turning the inside of lumber into powder and making it unstable.
The last instar or stage of the powder post beetle larvae does not feed as much as earlier stages; it is (instead) gathering materials and creating its cocoon. Once its cocoon is finished, this wood boring pest is now in its pupa stage.
Over a certain time period the larva inside of the cocoon develops into an adult powderpost beetle. This adult does not feed on the wood. It emerges from its cocoon and exits out of the wood, creating the familiar hole with tiny ring of powder around the edges of the exit hole. The adult beetle now mates; the female lays microscopic eggs in the grains of the wood and the cycle begins anew.

Treatment of Powder Post Beetles

The best way to treat wood that is infested with powderpost beetles is to treat the infested wood (and surrounding wood, if possible) with a professional borate wood treatment. Using regular boric acid will not work. You need to use a specially heat-treated borate product. Bora-Care and Timbor are the two products most used by professionals. Bora-Care (boracare) is the best product to use when treating wood for powderpost beetles, termites, old house borers, wood destroying pests.
Bora Care has special properties that make the active ingredients penetrate deeply into the wood where it stays for many years more than other borate insecticides.

For best results, spray one gallon of Bora Care solution on 500 square feet of wood surface. Each gallon of Bora Care concentrate will make two gallons of finished solution and will treat 1,000 square feet of wood.

For pricing and ordering information: Bora Care

Pest Control Pesticides

Pest Control Equipment Powder Post Beetles