Woodworm Treatment Services in The Kettering & Corby Area

If you have woodworm in your home or at your business then you have an issue that is not going to go away without expert help. Pest Professionals in Kettering & Corby can assist to present you with instant guidance and help if you have woodworm issues in two very easy and effective stages:

The no obligation phone consultation applies to both domestic and business customers in the Kettering & Corby region. No woodworm or timber job is too large or too small for us to take a look at. Where appropriate we are able to advise on any immediate action needed to protect your well being, property or possessions prior to a visit. If a visit is needed we let you know if there will be a call out cost and also advise on the likely rates of any timber or woodworm treatment should it be called for.

Treatment of Woodworm and Timber Pests

The extensive use of timber in modern structural applications (floor joists, roof purlins, floorboards, rafters etc.) has intensified the risk that timber pests pose. If left without treatment, these insects will bring about considerable damage, which can eventually lead to structural failure of the building.

Even though the adults can fly, woodworm is typically brought into a property for the first time through the purchase of previously owned furniture pieces and can of course also cause serious damage to expensive wooden furniture, which may be antique.

Woodworm is in fact not a specific species of timber pest, but a generic term for the larval stage of a number of wood damaging beetles.

The Furniture Beetle, a small brown insect which is about 3mm to 5mm in length and flies quite readily, is the commonest. The Furniture Beetle lays its eggs on rough, unpolished wood and as soon as they hatch the grubs bore directly into the wood – leaving no trace until they emerge as beetles three years or so later, normally between May and September. Longhorn, Powder Post, Wharf Borer and Death Watch Beetles, the latter of which only infests large, old, hardwood beams, all possess a foothold in the UNITED KINGDOM.

The initial indication of woodworm the majority of people see is neat, round holes about 2mm across in wooden surfaces, often found with by small piles of wood dust beneath them.

New holes show clean white wood within. Although the holes are made by emerging adult beetles that are as a result no longer a direct threat to the structure, larvae may nonetheless be tunnelling away inside the wood. Crumbly edges to boards and to joists are also often a good indication of their inhabitance and the need for woodworm control measures.

Woodworm Control

In cases where valued, rare and expensive pieces of wooden furniture, musical instruments, decorative or structural woodwork are affected and need rescuing, a specialist woodworm treatment technique will definitely be required. Woodworm in furniture can be cured with the use of the correct kind of proprietary woodworm killer, with fluid injected into key flight holes. Floorboards should be lifted to get at the undersides and the joists.

If you have woodworm you will want to get rid of them. One of our experienced Pest Professionals will perform an initial survey to determine the type of timber pest involved and the extent of the problem, before advising on the most suitable treatment. The good news is that on evaluation a suitable treatment can eradicate woodworm entirely. In the event of a heavy or difficult to eradicate infestation, we can also advise on specialist heat treatment approach.

Types of Timber Pests in the UK

The Furniture Beetle

Easily the most prevalent timber pest in the UK. Damages furniture, musical instruments, decorative woodwork etc. Larvae live for 3-5 years in the wood.

Beetle Larvae

Timber pest larvae bore deep into the wood and emerge from May to September. They may possibly be burrowing in the wood for many years.

Death Watch Beetle

Dark reddish brown. Grubs like to eat older, hardwood structural timbers and can reside in them for ten years.

House Longhorn Beetle

Black/brown beetle not native to UK and primarily found in SE England. Infests seasoned and partly seasoned softwoods like pine.

Powder Post Beetle

Red/brown beetle that needs a diet of starch found in certain hardwoods. Can be a real problem in timber yards.

Wharf Borer Beetle

A brown beetle about 1cm long which lives in decayed wet timber. Adults commonly found close to waterways.

If you need sound advice or rapid solutions to woodworm or timber pest problems anywhere in Kettering & Corby or the surrounding towns and villages – speak to us.