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Treatment against worms and diseases of lumber

Protect yourself or get rid of wood insects

Wood is omnipresent in our homes, whether in our partitions, our frames, or our furniture. And we are unfortunately not the only ones who use it wood is the food of many insect larvae which can lodge and feed themselves there, causing a lot of damage, damaging the structure of the wood and compromising its resistance.

Among the wood-boring insects, the most common are the Anobiidae or beetles(encountered in softwood and sapwood), Capricorn (resinous) and Lyctus (resinous oak). Most recent frames are preventively impregnated. Most recent timber frames are impregnated in a preventive manner.

Where ?

  • Everywhere !there is wood in your house ! Untreated wood, anywhere, can be colonized by wood-boring insects (Anobiides, Woodworms, Capricorn, Lyctus).
  • These insects particularly appreciate the coniferous woods and sapwood (soft part) of oak. The old timber frames are the most exposed, especially at the level of the exposed beams, lathings of under roofs, cladding, etc …
  • Attic floors are also often targeted by these pests.
  • Newer woodwork, on the other hand, is often “factory” protected by a soaking bath and is less susceptible to this type of insect.
  • Softwood is particularly vulnerable.

Symptoms

  • Appearance of holes in the wood.
  • Visible presence of insects on the surface of the wood.
  • Small piles of sawdust either on the wood or on the ground under the affected beams.

Why do it ?

– Protect wood from damage A structure infested with capricorn can lose its stability and resistance. In old houses, worm-eaten floors sometimes present a real danger of collapse for the occupants. In old houses, worm-eaten floors sometimes present a real danger of collapse for the occupants.
– Avoid the proliferation of the colony and the infestation of other woodwork in the vicinity (furniture, woodwork, etc.)
– Our treatment is guaranteed for 10 years.
– The fungicides and insecticides used are approved by the Ministry of Public Health.

Processing steps of structural insect treatment

1

Inspection and diagnosis

2

Determination of the type of insect

3

Dusting and stripping of wood

4

Injection treatment

If capricorn larva

5

Treatment by spraying curative product

FAQ – find out more

Why is the treatment of lumber important?

A multitude of biological organisms feed on cellulose, a material found abundantly in wood. The timber must be treated to protect it from attacks by insect larvae (beetles, termites, wood ants) and fungi, all of these living organisms for which construction timber represents a pantry and a place of refuge. privileged reproduction.

What are the parasitic insects of wood?

– It is mainly the beetle larvae that attack lumber. Adult insects lay their eggs in a crack in the wood. The larvae appear as white grubs with ringed bodies and develop in the wood for 3 to 5 years, as larvae, before undergoing their metamorphosis. There are mainly 3 types of attack by beetles on timber:

o Thesmall wood beetle which is noticed by the size of the small flight holes (1 to 3mm in diameter), small holes that they pierce in the surface of the wood,
o  The large wood beetle which can be seen by the slightly larger flight holes (2 to 4 mm in diameter)
The larva of the house capricorn (Hylotrupe bajulus) is the most dangerous of the 3. It is noticed by the larger size of its oval shaped flight holes (5 to 8mm on average, sometimes up to 10mm)

– Termites: until recently termites were confined to the south of Paris. Recently, due to global warming, termite infestation has been reported north of Paris as far as Belgium. Termites colonize walls and floors and mainly feed on wood. Appropriate treatment is to be expected. Its description would be the subject of an entire chapter. So far Hydrotec does not offer a termite treatment service.

– There are also wood ants (which feed on wood). We rarely meet them on our sites.

– Carpenter bees dig their nests in wood but they do not feed on it; they are not woodborers.

What are the signs of insect attack on wood?

If you notice small openings (which are in fact the flight holes of the larva after its metamorphosis), worm, small piles of sawdust below these holes, it is because the lumber (or all other wood inspected) was colonized by insect larvae.
The house capricorn uses large flight holes of the order of 8mm in diameter. During its larval existence, it digs numerous galleries under the surface of joists, beams and floors, undermining their solidity in an irremediable way. The capricorn larva is a plague: its damage can have catastrophic consequences for the stability of infested timber frames and roosts.
The wood species prized by the Capricorn are generally conifers.
The small and the large wood beetle, on the other hand, attack a wide variety of wood species. However, for very hard lumber like oak, they only attack the soft part of the wood (sapwood). They choose the easy; heartwood (the harder part in the heart of the oak) is usually not affected.

How to eradicate these insects?
In the event of an attack, disinsection of the contaminated wood must be carried out. The treatment is adapted according to the variety of insect present:

– For the small beetle and the large beetle, a treatment by spraying with a curative insecticidal fungicide product is generally sufficient:

  • The treatment is carried out on clean, dust-free wood.
  • By carrying out a double impregnation of the wood by spraying, we durably treat the timber affected by the small and the large wood beetle

-In the event of an attack by the house capricorn, an injection treatment will be implemented. After clearly delineating the affected areas, the work is carried out in severalProcessing steps:

  • logging of affected wood to remove weakened parts,
  • dusting
  • regular wood drilling
  • placement of injectors in the orifices
  • injection of the curative insecticide product
  • complete spraying of the curative insecticide fungicide
  • Possible reinforcement of weakened timber
Which curative treatment product to use?

Curative insecticidal fungicides intended for wood treatment must be approved by the Ministry of Public Health.
The brands Xylophene, Xylamon, Basilit, Madurox are often cited.

Product in aqueous phase or in hydrocarbon solvent phase?
There are still (and unfortunately …) products in the hydrocarbon solvent phase on themarket, but they are increasingly criticized (toxicity of aliphatic solvents) and replaced by very effective products diluted with water. Formulated in aqueous phase, these products are significantly less toxic for applicators and for occupants of homes.
The products that we apply at Hydrotec are formulated in aqueous phase. These products are significantly less odorous, less unpleasant and above all less toxic to humans than solvent-based products (white spirit, flavorless or not).

What is the difference between preventive treatment and curative treatment?

A preventive treatment of structural timber is generally carried out in the factory, by soaking or sprinkling fresh (still healthy) timber in a repellant (fungicide and preventive insecticide). This broad-spectrum treatment prevents subsequent parasitic attacks of a majority of fungi and larvae of beetles and all other wood-eating insects.

Unlike preventive treatment, curative treatment helps eradicate an attack in progress. The product used is a curative biocide. It kills insects and fungi that are already present on or inside woodwork.

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