Let me introduce you to the woodworm which maybe in your Wirral or Cheshire Home

• Anobium Punctatum, generally known as the common furniture beetle or ‘woodworm’, has been the primary cause of damage to house timbers in the North West of England over the last century. Since World War Two, insecticidal treatments have been widely marketed and used to ‘treat and preserve’ timbers in buildings thought to be at risk from this organism. In addition, the trend in Wirral / Cheshire and surrounding areas for ‘upcycling’ older items of wooden furniture has resulted in the introduction of woodworm into newer premises

Wirral / Cheshire Woodworm; Biology, Life Cycle and Behaviour.

• The adult beetles thrive throughout spring and summer in woodland and wooded pasture. The beetles attack a wide range of dead and decaying broadleaved and coniferous trees. They usually infest wood that is damp. The woodworm reproduces around Wirral and Cheshire in the spring months.
• The females can lay up to thirty eggs in bark crevices, cracked wood or old exit holes from earlier infestations. The evidence of woodworm in your Wirral or Cheshire property can be seen at night but is easily observed by sweeping foliage at any time. The woodworm larvae emerge within two to four weeks and immediately bore straight down into the xylem where they feed and produce random and often dense galleries.
• The infestation in structural timbers may be so dense that the wood turns to a fragile structure of dust and borings that easily crumbles. This is rarely seen in the wild but it can be common in the built environment. The larval development of the woodworm depends upon temperature, moisture and starch content and the type or density of the wood. In the wild, the species usually produces one brood in a season but in dry hardwood it takes at least two years and often much longer for the larvae to appear. The fully-grown larvae burrow towards the surface of the wood but do not emerge.
• Woodworm beetles construct a chamber just beneath the surface in which they will pupate. The adult woodworm emerges shortly afterwards by biting a hole through the top of the chamber. Eggs are tiny, creamy or yellowish in colour and very difficult to find among crevices in wood. Fresh larvae are very inconspicuous. The pestcontrol.me.uk technicians are experienced and trained to spot the initial evidence of woodworm activity in your Wirral or Cheshire home.

Where does woodworm live in the Wirral and Cheshire. Why do they like to come into my house?

• Strong, artificial light attracts woodworm beetles into your Wirral or Cheshire home. The pests often crawl inside through cracks and gaps in foundations and though open doors or windows.
• Since the insects prefer to live outside, homeowners will find most beetles in hiding places under accumulated debris. The introduction of upcycled or antique furniture into your Wirral home may also cause an infestation of woodworm.

How to identify woodworm in my home. What does woodworm look like?

1. Adult beetles are 2.5 – 5 mm in length and dull reddish to dark brown. They have fine grooves running lengthwise along the wing-cases and antennae shorter than legs, with three flattened segments at the tip of the antennae.
2. The first indication of woodworm is the appearance of round holes between 1.5 and 2.5 mm in diameter. As a result of the formation of these holes further evidence includes the piles of wood dust which have been created as a result of the boring insect.
3. Further evidence of an infestation in your Wirral or Cheshire home includes woodworm eggs which are usually found on rough and polished wood. The newly hatched grubs quickly go straight into the surface of the wood where they leave no trace existence until they emerge as fully-fledged beetles in the summer months up to 3 years later.

How do I recognise a woodworm infestation in my Wirral or Cheshire home?

Woodworm Control- Wirral and Cheshire. The presence of the following evidence are indicators of a woodworm infestation in your home:

1. Live adult beetles. When they become active they look to mate as soon as possible.
2. Dead Beetles.
3. Eggs.
4. Woodworm larvae. These are often called grubs and are creamy white in colour.
5. Fresh exit holes – these can be found throughout the year bet are most commonly found during the summer months.
6. Tunnel systems in the surface of wood which result from the boring activity of woodworm larvae.
7. Dust – The active woodworm leave borehole dust detritus as the make their holes and emerge from the timber.
8. Damaged or weakened floorboards, wall and roof timbers are evidence a widespread and serious infestation.

What damage will woodworm cause in my Wirral or Cheshire home?

Woodworm can infest doors, windows, skirting, joists, floorboards, rafters and other structural timbers. A severe case of woodworm can affect the structural integrity of a house. Although very rare, a severe case of woodworm could weaken roof timbers and floor timbers. This may cause your Wirral or Cheshire house to collapse.

How to control a woodworm infestation in my Wirral or Cheshire home?

Woodworm Control – Wirral and Cheshire. The first step in pest control is prevention. A priority is to keep the timber dry; below 15% moisture content. In addition, maintaining humidity within the building above 65% may lead to an infestation. Overall a timber moisture content below 15% will be too dry for a woodworm infestation to occur.

Anobium punctatum normally only attacks seasoned timber. Living or fresh wood rarely contains woodworm. Woodworm infestation of building timbers can be variable between different types of wood. For example, woodworm may attack one area of woodland. Conversely, woodworm will not touch an adjacent area of woodland. This depends on whether the timber originates from the heartwood or the sapwood part of a tree trunk.

In Wirral, woodworm target old wooden houses built with untreated timbers. This means that wood borer infections can substantially weaken structures.

Anobium punctatum has a life cycle of 3-4 years. As a result, timber or timber products bought containing a woodworm infestation may not show boreholes for a number of years.

Professional fumigation will control infestation. It is most important to replace infected timbers. The basic aerosol insecticide sprays will only kill the adult borer on the wing but not the burrowing larvae. The larvae remain protected inside the wood. Another option is freezing infected timber. Alternatively, by heating to a temperature of 60 °C for at least twenty four hour. These temperature changes will kill beetle larvae but unfortunately they offer no residual protection for the timber.

The Wirral and Chester homeowner can easily treat Common Furniture beetles with a brush, dip or spray. The application of a permethrin-based woodworm treatment purchased from your local DIY store on all timbers affected by woodworm may help. As a precaution you should also treat any close by timbers to protect against future outbreaks. However, it is difficult to remove all woodworm yourselves. Any extensive infestation in your Wirral or Chester home requires professional involvement. It’s time to call pestcontrol.me.uk.

Wirral or Chester home requires professional involvement. It’s time to call pestcontrol.me.uk

Woodworm Control- Wirral and Cheshire. The woodworm control experts from pestcontrol.me.uk follow a trusted and safe procedure:

• We complete a full risk assessment before any treatment is applied.
• Full personal protective equipment is worn by our technicians on all woodworm treatments.
• The treatment is normally dealt with on the first treatment, and has a 100% success rate. Infestations by woodworm in Wirral, Chester and Cheshire properties are on the increase. It is important for you to take action quickly in order to stop long term, extensive and expensive damage to your property. Contact pestcontrol.me.uk at the earliest possible opportunity when you see evidence of woodworm in the timbers of your home or business.