Preparation and Advice

Your most important advice is to call our Timber treatment team on 0800 0854460 to arrange a survey of the property or building and establish the extent and location of the woodworm infestation. We carry out local timber treatment surveys throughout Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Woodworm is commonly identified by surveyors and brought to the buyers or sellers attention when a property or building is in the middle of being purchased or sold.

We will need to identify which wood boring insect it is, and this depends on the treatment that is required. Whenever a woodworm treatment is carried out the location will need to be excluded for 24 hours. Our survey fees and report are charged at: £85.00 +vat, and recommended treatments will be quoted before any works commences.

Treatment

Preparation of timbers before treatment is paramount, they will require hovering and brushing down, if the treatment is in a loft, then all insulation is removed to allow good access and avoid the chemicals coming into contact with the fibre glass. All cables and water tanks will be covered to stop cross contamination and reduce any fire risks.
If treating woodworm in furniture all areas can be sprayed or brushed with a recommended professional woodworm killer. If any flight holes noted these will be injected with a specific applicator.
Floorboards will sometimes need to be lifted to get to the undersides and joists depending on the extent of woodworm infestation
Once the site is ready then an application of professional woodworm killer can be sprayed or brushed into the beams and infested structures and items. There are always restricted access times during and post treatments these may vary and can be discussed on a pre-site survey. Chemical treatments are covered by 10-15 Years Certification Guarantee.

Signs you have Woodworm

Small holes can be seen in older wood and you shouldn’t immediately assume you have a fresh infestation but it is advised you check to see if it has been treated just book an on line survey for peace of mind and we will be able to assist in this matter.
Summer months can see beetles flying in very active areas and Death Watch beetles have an undeniable clicking sound that would suggest activity is in your home.
Light piles of dust under beams and around wooden window frames and doors are another significant indication that there is activity.
Buyers or Sellers of property sometimes only find out they have a woodworm infestation when a House Survey is carried out.

Woodworm Facts

Woodworm is a relatively open expression for wood boring insects that can include: Common Furniture Beetle, Powder Post Beetle and wood boring weevils associated with wet rot and attracted to a high starch diet found in some hardwoods, Death Watch Beetle and the House Long Horn (only currently found in North West Surrey) infest large old hardwood beams.

Adult furniture beetles’ attacks mainly unpolished wood by laying eggs in the rough edges and voids leaving the larvae to hatch and bore into the structure, they will lay dormant for up to three years then emerge as adult beetles usually between May and September.
Adults are usually 3mm- 6mm small and brown and can fly, it is not unusual for the beetle to come in on logs for fires, fly through open windows and doors from resting trees or reinfest from second hand furniture.
It is without doubt they can cause untold damage to building structures over time and destruction of unique sometimes antique furniture if not addressed.

The most common wood boring insect in the UK is the Death watch, it loves infesting partly decayed wood and hardwoods particularly Oak, they can be found in many old properties and quite commonly in churches.
Female woodworms depending on specie live for between 10 – 14 days whereas males only live for 3-4 days, larvae can sit and pupate within wood for up to three years.