Woodworm treatment in Den Bosch: what is woodworm?
Woodworm is not a worm but the larva of a small beetle. The female lays her eggs in tiny cracks and old holes in untreated wood. The larvae then spend years eating their way through the timber, invisible from the outside. Once fully grown, the new beetle chews its way out and leaves a round hole of one or two millimetres.
The beetles fly mainly from May to August. They prefer older, slightly damp wood: joists above a crawl space, attic floors, staircases, window frames and antique furniture. Wicker baskets and old plywood are attacked as well. Do nothing, and the damage grows a little every year.
Active infestation or old damage?
Many old beams are full of holes from long ago, and that need not be a problem. Whether larvae are still at work shows in a few ways:
- fresh holes with sharp, pale edges
- light-coloured, fine bore dust that keeps reappearing
- small brown beetles on the windowsill in spring or summer
- wood that feels soft or crumbly beneath the surface
Larger, oval exit holes in softwood rafters or purlins point to the house longhorn beetle (huisboktor), which can do far more damage. In damp oak beams affected by fungal decay, the death-watch beetle (bonte knaagkever) sometimes turns up. Each species calls for its own approach.
How our woodworm treatment works
During the inspection we tap and probe the wood, examine the bore dust and work out which beetle it is and how deep the attack goes. We also check whether moisture plays a role, because treating without tackling that cause makes little sense. If a beam is seriously weakened, we tell you so honestly.
The treatment is matched to the timber. Beams and floors are treated with a professional product that soaks deep into the wood; for heavy beams it can be injected through small drill holes. Furniture is treated separately. In listed buildings we keep as much of the original timber intact as possible, so the character of the building is preserved.
What you can do – and what to leave alone
Keep the wood dry. Make sure the crawl space is well ventilated, keep air bricks clear and fix leaks in the roof or pipes quickly. Want to know whether the attack is active? Fill existing holes with a little wax or put masking tape over them: any new holes will then stand out immediately.
Don't paint or varnish over active holes to hide them; the larvae simply carry on underneath. Avoid DIY products on load-bearing beams too, as they rarely penetrate deeply enough. And don't bring an antique with fresh holes straight into the house. If in doubt, our pest control in Den Bosch is happy to take a look.
Holes, gnawing or something else?
Not all damage to wood is caused by woodworm. In summer, wasps scrape thin strips off fences and garden furniture to make paper for their nest; that leaves pale streaks, not holes. If there is a nest near your house, see wasp nest removal. If you hear gnawing in a floor at night and find droppings rather than bore dust, rodents are the more likely culprit – read more about mouse control.
