SAS Urban Survival Handbook by John Wiseman Read Free Book Online

such wood to rot, once installed and painted.
     

Wood-borers
     
    Groups of small holes in timber, or small clouds of powdered wood falling from them, indicate the presence of wood-boring insects (see colour pages). In most cases, it is the larvae of various beetles which do the damage, tunnelling through the wood until they emerge as adult beetles.
    The main culprits in temperate climates are woodworm (common furniture beetles), which favour the sapwood of softwoods—which comprise most of the wooden structure of most houses—plus the sapwood of oak. They also have a taste for beech, birch, elm, mahogany and older-style plywood.
    Small piles of wood dust round clean 1.5-2 mm (1/16 in) holes indicate recent activity. These are the flight holes from which the adult beetles emerge after the larvae have eaten their way around the inside of the timber for about three years. The best time to treat woodworm is in the spring, before the warm weather arrives and the beetles emerge. The pupae are usually just below the surface.
    Deathwatch beetles prefer partly decayed oak and are usually found in older buildings, producing more damage and 3 mm (1/8 in) flight holes. They are quite rare.
    House longhorn beetles are also quite rare, but represent a very large family of beetles around the world—many of which can do considerable damage. The flight holes are oval, usually about 10 × 6mm (3/8 × 1/4 in), filled with bore dust. House longhorns tend to attack the sapwood of seasoned softwoods. The larval stage can last eleven years, so by the time the flight holes appear, timbers may be ‘eaten away’ inside.
    Powder post beetles tend to inhabit timber yards and sawmills, favouring the sapwood of new hardwoods. They don’t like old wood. Their flight holes are about 1.5 mm (1/16 in) across.
    Wood-boring weevils tend to prefer decaying hard or soft wood—they are most commonly found in damp cellars and buildings close to water. Once the rot is treated the weevils tend to die out.
    In sub-tropical and tropical climates, termites are a major problem. They look like large white ants—and are often so called. They attack almost anything that contains cellulose—wood, paper, cardboard, chipboard. They don’t live in wood—they eat it or take it back to their nest, which may be underground. Attack by termites should be treated as an emergency. Chemical and biological controls are used, but termites are very determined.
    It’s common to try sheet metal at ground level to protect posts and structural timbers—but even sheet metal dampcourses don’t stop them. They can create a route through most thin substances, including metal, glass and concrete. They may even attack the sheathing of cables, causing short circuits and power failures, and make holes in piping.
    The lead cable borer in the US favours hardwoods like oak and laurel—also called ‘short circuit’, it bores into leadlined cables. The bamboo borer , although it only breeds in tropical climates, may be exported to any location in bamboo furniture. It may attack wood in the home—not just bamboo—if conditions are favourable.
    Carpenter ants (mainly in the US) create galleries inside timbers, depositing excavated wood outside their nests. Carpenter bees bore 20 mm (3/4 in) diameter holes, which lead to large galleries which run with the grain of the wood.

Avoiding infestation
     
    Woodworm, in particular, like old furniture—the thin plywood backs of wardrobes, all-plywood ‘utility’ furniture and basket work. Treat any secondhand or imported furniture before installing it in your home as a matter of course. Treat all timbers if there has been any evidence of attack. Treat all new wood that is brought into the house. Don’t store lots of old furniture or wood in the loft.

WOOD PRESERVATIVES/INSECTICIDES
     
    Protective clothing (including boots, gloves, filter mask and goggles) MUST be worn when applying fungicides, insecticides and preservatives. They—and the