Woodworm

Worried about woodworm in your timbers, floorboards or furniture? Our woodworm guide provides all the help and advice you need to make sure your home is woodworm free!

Woodworm is one of the most common causes of damage in timber framed buildings and it can have serious structural effects if left untreated. Anobium Punctatum, aka “the common furniture beetle”, is the main perpetrator of woodworm damage in the UK and leaves some easily spotted signs of its activity. However, it is possible to miss an active woodworm infestation in hidden, humid, areas of a home or commercial property such as under floorboards or in lofts.

We provide expert surveys to diagnose the problem and determine if the infestation is active or not, and if necessary, professional treatments specially designed to purge your property of woodworm with the minimum of fuss. Best of all, our woodworm treatments carry a 20 year guarantee for complete peace of mind.

Following current Government guidance Peter Cox can still perform woodworm treatment services in homes and commercial premises while taking all necessary precautions with regards to social distancing and use of protective equipment. To find out how we can help you today while remaining safe, please get in touch with our experts by calling 0800 633 5712 or click the button below to book a survey.

Despite the name woodworm are not actually worms at all, rather it is the generic name for the larva of certain species of beetles. These larvae are small, wriggly and white, similar to maggots but slightly bigger with a curved “C-shaped” body. However, it is very rare that you will ever see a woodworm larvae, as they tend to stay burrowed in timber until they emerge as a fully grown beetle.

Woodworm go through different phases as they undergo their transformation into an adult, the life cycle of woodworm is as follows:

1. The adult beetle lays its eggs in crevices and open joints in wood
2. Larval grub spends years chewing through the wood feeding on cellulose and leaving it structurally weakened in the process
3. Larva forms pupation chamber near the surface where it will transform into a beetle
4. The adult beetle bores out of wood, mates and finds a wooden surface to begin the process all over again

You can see these stages animated below, or you may want to read more about the different stages of woodworm by taking a look at our woodworm beetles page.

In nature, wood boring beetles live on the forest floor and their larvae feed on decaying wood from trees. This means the conditions inside occupied properties are generally unsuitable for common furniture beetles to lay their eggs as they require a fairly specific environment to complete their lifecycle.

So, how do properties end up with woodworm? Wood-boring beetles in homes and commercial properties are usually drawn to damp timber caused by leaks or high relative humidity caused by inadequate ventilation. The common furniture beetle can be found in soft and hardwoods, but in almost every instance the wood will be damp and unvarnished. This makes the wood similar to what they would find in their natural habitat, simple to lay eggs into and easy for the larvae to feed.

The common furniture beetle gets its name because in days gone by the most significant damage caused by woodworm was in beech furniture and you will often find signs of woodworm damage in antique or upcycled furniture as a result. The woodworm in these pieces is often long gone, but it is possible to bring an active infestation into your home with a furniture purchase.

If you want to know what a woodworm infestation looks like and whether you have on in your home then we would advise that you check your timbers. Signs of a woodworm infestation can be found anywhere there is timber in the home. Typically that could mean the roof rafters, floor joists, floor boards, skirting boards and of course any wooden furniture.

The 6 signs of woodworm infestation are:

• Exit holes - Where the adult beetle has escaped
• Frass - A damp material reminiscent of sawdust
• Tunnels - Where the larvae has munched through the timber
• Cracking timber - Damage caused by the tunneling
• Emerging beetles - In the summer beetles leave to mate
• Dead beetles - Adult beetles have short lives and will die near to where they emerged

Identifying the signs of woodworm can be complicated as most people find that they first become aware that they have a woodworm problem when they spot the small round exit holes in their timber. Unfortunately this alone does not tell you if you still have an active infestation. The biggest indicator of an active and present woodworm problem is evidence of ‘frass’ or bore dust beside the exit hole. To find out more about the signs of woodworm and identifying active infestation you can visit our signs of woodworm page.

If you would like to know what the adult beetles look like then our woodworm beetles page will provide pictures of the individual species alongside details of distinguishing features and typical characteristics of where they like to lay their eggs and what type of wood they prefer. The page contains profiles of:

• Common furniture beetle
• Death watch beetle
• Wood boring weevil
• House longhorn beetle

Our treatment process has been ratified by industry trade bodies such as the Property Care Association, Which? Trusted Trader and more to effectively eliminate woodworm in roofs, floors and staircases. With decades of experience solving woodworm problems in properties across the UK, our process gives you complete peace of mind that our woodworm treatment is safe, fast and reliable.

Our full and comprehensive woodworm treatment service includes.

• A survey by a local industry accredited surveyor to locate the infestation, determine whether it is active or not and identify accurately the species involved.
• Once an active woodworm infestation has been positively identified we offer woodworm treatment solutions that can be used on either bare wood OR painted or varnished wood.
• If  structurally necessary, infested timbers will be cut away and replaced, or economically repaired by skilled joiners using resin repair techniques.
• Our treatments are backed by real and meaningful 20 year guarantees.