If you’ve ever visited an older property then you’ve no doubt seen the effects of woodworm first hand. The timber that makes up the property appears weaker thanks to being riddled with tiny holes, caused by insects as gnaw through the wood.
However what you might not realize is that the term “woodworm” doesn’t relate to a worm at all. The insect that can cause such devastation is actually a beetle grub. While they may very superficially look like a worm, it’s better to think of them as caterpillars that eventually metamorphose into adult beetles before flying away.
Even more surprisingly perhaps, woodworm isn’t a single species of insect at all; it’s a phrase that describe any kind of wood-boring beetle that attacks timber in residential properties. Examples include the death watch beetle, powder-post beetle, longhorn beetle and, most commonly of all, the furniture beetle.
The fact is that many beetles in the wild lay their eggs on damp, decaying pieces of wood such as fallen tree trunks. The eggs hatch and over a period of time the grubs grow and develop, slowly eating their way through the soft, damp wood. Eventually they reach adult size, pupate like a butterfly and then hatch out into an adult beetle, ready to start the cycle all over again.
In nature then most beetles provide a tremendously useful service. Known as “detritivores”, beetles are experts at breaking down dead and diseased plant material. In doing so they keep the countryside free of fallen wood and help to redistribute nutrients back into the soil where they can be reused by other organisms.
However just as the definition of a “weed” is simply a wild plant where it’s not supposed to be, so these beetles can suddenly become a “pest” when the wood they choose to lay eggs on, and eat their way through, what happens to be an important structural element of your house.
Nothing is off-limits; from floor to ceiling joists, internal walls with their timber-based struts and even your skirting boards and wooden furniture can all be targeted. Not only is the result unattractive, left unchecked it can also compromise the safety of your home. For example timbers riddled with holes lose much of their strength and are far more likely to collapse under weight.
That said, an attack must be heavy to get to this point as most of the woodworm species are actually very small beetles. The holes they produce are therefore comparatively small too. In most cases then it will be possible to rid yourself of an infestation before it becomes too severe and starts to pose a serious risk to your health.
So You Have a Woodworm Infestation…?
The most common symptom of a woodworm attack are the tiny holes seen around your timbers. However these holes are generally caused by beetles when they reach maturity and exit the timber in order to go searching for a mate. Therefore the existence of holes doesn’t necessarily mean that you have live grubs in your timbers right now.
To be certain of whether your woodworm problem is getting worse, there are a number of signs you can keep an eye out for. For one, woodworm grubs will normally leave some mess when they create these holes. Over time, the little particles of sawdust will blow away, so try looking at any affected timbers close up to see if any of this dust is present. If so, this might suggest a current or recent infestation.
Another tell-tale sign of an active woodworm infestation is to keep an eye out during warmer months for the adult beetles themselves. They will typically hatch out en masse, and so if you find a sudden and surprising number of small beetles within your home, this may be a sign that they have recently hatched from your timbers.
That said, just because your home has been attacked by woodworm in the past does not necessarily mean that it is still under attack – or necessarily will be again in the future.
The fact is that woodworm like some very specific conditions if they are to survive and thrive, so it is entirely possible that you have inadvertently affected these environmental conditions and rendered your home unsuitable for woodworm beetles.