Any Way to Rid Log Bowl Blanks of Bugs

[Lewis Elliott]

If your shop lathe is in an attached garage, or in your basement, what do you do to prevent bringing bugs into your shop that are embed in the log-wood; either as a chain sawn bowl blank to be mounted on your lathe , or to be sawn into a blank on your bandsaw?

 

[Richard Coers]

Shorten the storage after cutting time helps, removing bark outside also. If turning spalted, your odds of bringing in bugs, odds go up on bringing in the bugs.

 

[Wally Crawford]

I have a shop microwave that I got at the local Habitat re-store. When bugs are suspected, I use microwave to nuke the bugs. I then leave the blank in the microwave overnight so that any bugs are contained, then in the morning I look for telltale sawdust, If needed, I will nuke them again

 

[Richard Coers]

I have a shop microwave that I got at the local Habitat re-store. When bugs are suspected, I use microwave to nuke the bugs. I then leave the blank in the microwave overnight so that any bugs are contained, then in the morning I look for telltale sawdust, If needed, I will nuke them again

Does that kill the larvae and bugs down inside the wood?

 

[Wally Crawford]

I am not a scientist.....I am barely a woodturner, but I have seen dead bugs fairly deep in the bowl blank after I did this. Not sure about the larvae, but after the bowl is turned, I am told the finish will smother any remaining larvae. I usually use shellac as a finish, and I have never seen any evidence of active bugs in the blanks even after sitting on the shelf for several years.

 

[Michael Nathal]

I have had good luck with sealing blanks inside a black Hefty trash bag and about a half cup of acetone or lacquer thinner. I leave it for several days.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Here's a quote from the USDA that outlines the minimum requirements for killing bugs in wood, at least for international trade. Given my experience in re-heating lasagna in the microwave I'd suspect it is quite difficult to ensure that you've achieved a killing temperature throughout a larger chunk of wood by that method. In my own shop I don't bring wood in that has powderpost beetles and pretty much ignore the rest as they won't prosper in a dried, finished piece.

"The current international standard for heat sterilization of solid wood packaging materials is the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 15, “Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade,” which requires heating wood to a minimum core temperature of 56 °C (133 °F) for a minimum of 30 min when using conventional heat chamber technology (IPPC 2002, 2017; APHIS 2004). (Note: In 2013, the Eighth Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-8) adopted revised Annex 1 to ISPM 15 to include heat treatment using dielectric heating.Where dielectric heating (microwave or radio waves) is used, wood packaging material must be heated to achieve a minimum temperature of 60 °C (140 °F) for 1 min continuously throughout the entire profile of the wood, including its surfaces.)"

 

[Richard Coers]

I am not a scientist.....I am barely a woodturner, but I have seen dead bugs fairly deep in the bowl blank after I did this. Not sure about the larvae, but after the bowl is turned, I am told the finish will smother any remaining larvae. I usually use shellac as a finish, and I have never seen any evidence of active bugs in the blanks even after sitting on the shelf for several years.

Was the guy who told you the finish kills them a scientist? The University of Kentucky entomology department doesn't agree. https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef616 Beetles emerging through such coatings were usually in the wood before the finish was applied. Although beetles emerging from finished wood can potentially re-infest by laying eggs in emergence holes, sealing the holes prevents this possibility.

 

[Wally Crawford]

Thank you Roger and Richard Mine are only opinions based on 40 years experience as a wood worker. I have worked with both kiln dried and air dried wood. My bowl blanks are all scavenged green wood, some of which have bugs. My method has worked for me and I offer it as only an opinion based on my experience. As they say...your results may differ.

 

[Mike Johnson]

A microwave will heat the fluids inside the cells and rupture the cell membranes of living creatures inside the wood. If any thing
does survive it will most likely have superpowers and wear a cape. You can also boil wood turning blanks in a pressure cooker.

 

[Larry Copas]

I have a sawmill along with a low temperature de-humidification kiln to dry lumber. The bugs most concerning are powder post beetles. At the end of the drying cycle I increase the kiln temperature to 150 degrees for 24 hours. To insure the temperature hits the recommended 133 degrees, I drill a hole and insert a thermometer probe (BBQ probe) into a sample board. To heat the kiln I use halogen work lights controlled by a Inkbird plc control module which is basically a line voltage thermostat.

A little more info. Pecan and hickory are like candy to the PPB. If not available they will infest sapwood of almost any hardwood and if starving they may wander into the heartwood. For my turning wood I really don't think about bugs much. If I see sawdust on the floor or get a bug splat on my glasses while turning I know I have a problem and address it than.

 

[hughie]

Well for me I had a few salmon gum burls full of creepy crawleys I soaked them in water for 6–8 weeks. As I cut the blanks up, I would drop them in the freezer for a few days. OK I live in a warm climate where it never freezes over, rarely if ever makes to zero. Dunno if freezing would work in colder climes. But for me, it did the job, soaking took out the crawlers freezing took out the larvae.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

When I had some pieces with living bugs in it (wood dust showed that) I double bagged the pieces in plastic bags with a handful of mothballs in it, set it away for a couple months, never saw any evidence of bugs after that.

As for the thought of freezing, the trees here get cold for several months with temps dipping down to 40 below, comes spring there are lots bugs around again, I remember a turner microwaving a piece of wood for a while, when he opened the microwave there was a bug walking around in the microwave, certainly did not kill that one.

Ants, like carpenter ants do freeze solid as I have seen, so do the eggs, when it gets warmer these hatch and have to be fed, and yes by those ants that were frozen solid just days before.

What will kill al of these bugs is contact with things like paint thinner or other of these fluids, the problem is to get it on them, in bigger hole you can maybe inject it, but often frass is blocking the holes.

 

[Lewis Elliott]

My major worry is bringing termites, ants, and other troublesome bugs into your living space. The money you potentially thought you saved with the green wood quickly may get spent many times over to get rid of the newly created problem because of the green wood. Has anyone come up with a sure fire approach to conclusively dealing with this?

 

[Brian Gustin]

We had a powder post beetle problem come in, but wasn't from any green wood, it came from a fresh set of pine & plywood shelves (construction lumber) that hadn't been finished... 6 months later we started seeing the tell-tale piles of wood dust below the little holes which then spread to some other "store bought" (Read: Particleboard) furniture (all of which by the way I had no hand in crafting) Took a bit of time & effort (and a few paperback books we had to throw out too as beetles ate into those too) but I think we have them all gone.

Moral of the story - Beetle infestations can come from just about anywhere, so can't always blame it on green wood. much of my own wood stash (including some rough lumber) that is stored outside also has had trouble with wood bees, but I usually cut that away before bring it into the shop (the rest goes in firewood pile) , though plenty enough of logs I've turned ended up splattering bug guts all over my face shield from time to time... So, I don't think it is a huge concern to worry over, just need to be aware of the potential for unwanted critters getting into your wood, and figure out how you plan to deal with them if and when you find them. Nothing is sure-fire, and indeed infestations can come from sources you had not even considered (Such as a box full of paperback books you bought at a yard sale!)

Generally, though, try and keep your outside wood stash elevated off the ground, covered and shaded, would go a long way to help cut down or eliminate attracting those pests into your wood pile. I dunno about Termites, isn't 'Joisey a bit too far north for Termites? (AFAIK, where I live in North Central P.A., we don't get termites here..)

 

[Lewis Elliott]

We had a powder post beetle problem come in, but wasn't from any green wood, it came from a fresh set of pine & plywood shelves (construction lumber) that hadn't been finished... 6 months later we started seeing the tell-tale piles of wood dust below the little holes which then spread to some other "store bought" (Read: Particleboard) furniture (all of which by the way I had no hand in crafting) Took a bit of time & effort (and a few paperback books we had to throw out too as beetles ate into those too) but I think we have them all gone.

Moral of the story - Beetle infestations can come from just about anywhere, so can't always blame it on green wood. much of my own wood stash (including some rough lumber) that is stored outside also has had trouble with wood bees, but I usually cut that away before bring it into the shop (the rest goes in firewood pile) , though plenty enough of logs I've turned ended up splattering bug guts all over my face shield from time to time... So, I don't think it is a huge concern to worry over, just need to be aware of the potential for unwanted critters getting into your wood, and figure out how you plan to deal with them if and when you find them. Nothing is sure-fire, and indeed infestations can come from sources you had not even considered (Such as a box full of paperback books you bought at a yard sale!)

Generally, though, try and keep your outside wood stash elevated off the ground, covered and shaded, would go a long way to help cut down or eliminate attracting those pests into your wood pile. I dunno about Termites, isn't 'Joisey a bit too far north for Termites? (AFAIK, where I live in North Central P.A., we don't get termites here..)

Thanks. Yep, we get termites here in South Jersey, unfortunately.