Powder-post beetles

Powder-post beetle (Lyctus spp.) sapwood of ring-porous hardwoods. 

Termites and powder post beetles cause many thousands of dollars loss of wood installations. Creosoting and vacuum-pressure impregnation of Wolman salts into pine lumber provides protection however, there exist many structures where in situ protection against termites would be of value. 

The production of chlordane was reduced from. 3.5 to 4.0 million pounds in 1986 to 100,000 to 1 million pounds in 1991 (ATSDR, 1994a). More than 63 million kg of chlordane were produced and used in the United States, mostly after 1960 before sales and its use were suspended in 1988 (Dearth Hites, 1991a,b). Restrictions were imposed on the use of chlordane in 1979 because of its potential human carcinogenicity. After this time chlordane was used mainly for underground termite control and in building construction (Dearth Hites, 1991a,b). In Japan, chlordane was only permitted for the control of termites and powder post beetles (Miyazaki et al., 1980). USEPA cancelled its registration for commercial... 

The most destructive beetle pests are those which attack seasoned wood in service, e.g. Anobium punctatum, Hylotrupes bajulus, Lyctus brunneus. Only a few species are capable of doing this, but those that do can cause serious problems. They include long-hom beetles, the common house borer or furniture beetle and powder post beetles. Given susceptible lumber and suitable conditions for development, all of the above insects are difficult and expensive, or in some cases impossible, to control. The use of preservative treated wood obviates the necessity for control. 

PowdeV -Post Beetles. Powder-post, false powder-post, and deathwatch beetles are three common predators of relatively dry wood. Although they progress at a much slower rate than termites, they are capable of serious and often devastating damage to wooden objects. Powder-post beetles Lyc-tidae) fill their chambers with a very fine powder that is similar in consistency to talcum powder. They attack hardwoods. 

False Powder-Post Beetles. False powder-post beetles (Bostrychidae) fill their chambers with a coarse boring dust that contains small wood fragments. They will attack both hardwood and softwood. 

Heat is a very effective method for an all-stage kill of most wood-boring beetles. Detailed lethal temperature and exposure time has been determined for powder-post beetles. Wood-boring insects will dehydrate above 44 °C... 

Wood is susceptible to many forms of degradation, especially when it is exposed to fungi and insect species as termites, powder post beetles, and carpenter ants which are wood-destroying organisms. This was the original idea behind the development of wood preservatives by destroying wood-insects, and various chemicals have been used for wood treatment. The chemicals used extensively for wood protection and as insect repellents for wood preservatives include pentachlorophenol, arsenic... 

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