oak with worms

[Farmerdave]

I have some red oak stored in my barn. I brought a board in a couple days ago and noticed some small holes on the edges. I ripped about 1/2" off off edge and few minutes later noticed a small white worm sticking out one hole. How do I handle this outside of just using it for firewood?
Thanks,
Dave

[Scoony]

Find a hardware store that carries boric acid. It is a white powder and comes in 1 quart cans. Follow directions by mixing with water and spraying. There are other products out there, but its the boric acid that does the job. I think you have to wait a cycle of them emerging to kill them.

[TomFromStLouis]

A kiln works too. I believe 150 degrees for a couple hours is the cure.

[Steve N]

Depends on where you live, right now a lot of the country is cold, but if you are in the South, to SW and are having daytime temps in the 80's, with a lot of sun, you can wrap the boards off the ground in black plastic. I've read others in the South say internal temps can get way over 150* going that route. Make sure they are off the ground, as a lot of the little buggies come from there, and it wouldn't do to get re-infested. If it were mine I'd spray Boric acid, and heat wrap it. I would sure get it outside even if it is cold where you are, lest the little bastiages head for other wood. If you were to spray it, and wrap it you could leave it outdoors for a while until it gets warm in your area. Look through any wood piles you have for small shavings called Frass, it looks like someone ran a small drill bit, and left the shavings where they fell. You can Google images to see pics of it, just google "frass in wood", and hit images. All of them are huge pics, and they would blow up the page here. Anyhow if you find other wood with signs of damage get it outside. Worst case scenario there is it becomes firewood in a fire pit, but at least they don't make it to your timber in your barn/garage.


Info from University of Kentucky