Microwave and Boring Insects

[Tom De Winter]

Will microwaving a piece kill any boring insects without needing to reach 140 degrees (or whatever the number is)?

 

[Mike Johnson]

A microwave does a good job of killing insects, the blood and liquids inside the insect will quickly heat up and expand and rupture cells and membranes in the organism and kill them.

 

[Bill Blasic]

Just be very sure there is no metal in the wood or you may get very surprised. Also never leave a microwave heating wood unattended.

 

[John Hicks]

I was microwaving a 10 inch, very punky piece of big leaf maple burl; the beetle grubs were literately trying to crawl out!

 

[Chris Lawrence]

And don't use the microwave in your kitchen. Especially if your married.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

A microwave does a good job of killing insects, the blood and liquids inside the insect will quickly heat up and expand and rupture cells and membranes in the organism and kill them.

If that is true, then the wood industry would use that to sanitize the wood I would expect, however they are not as far as I know, the use other manners to do that, here's one that also refers to the other manners of heating the wood.

Wood sanitization protocol for export packaging of Pinus radiata wood using a radiofrequency heat treatment :: BioResources

bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu

 

[John Walls]

I use the micro for 2 things. One, occasionally, on green wood after I do initial turning and also on wood I suspect has bugs. I do 60 seconds, let it cool down bout 10 minutes, then another 60 seconds. No larvae or other bug can survive this. It also dries the green wood down enough it usually does not move much if any after final turn/finishing.
Highly agree with don't use the wife's micro in the kitchen. I did, with a piss-elm piece... yea-yea, not my best moment... LOL, anywayz, next day I had to buy my better half a new micro but got to put the old one in my workshop. I do use it very often. I say this with my rookie experience in turning, opinion may change after I get many more years experience like others here.

 

[robo hippy]

It seems that the bug killing is similar to how the microwave heats things up. There always seem to be hot and cold spots. The hot spots kill the bugs, the cold spots do not. So, yes, it will get most of the bugs, but there do seem to be survivors....

robo hippy

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I forget who it was, but he claimed that he had a piece with carpenter ants in it, and while he was microwaving it, the ants were walking around in the microwave not being affected by it.

The other thing is, how do you known that there are actually bugs in the wood, and how do you then know that they actually did get killed without splitting the wood open to find out ??

I bet the wood cutting and treating industry would find out what is effective and government would allow just microwaving of the wood to sanitize it as is required everywhere to be used as crating and pallet construction material.

 

[John Walls]

I bet the wood cutting and treating industry would find out what is effective and government would allow just microwaving of the wood to sanitize it as is required everywhere to be used as crating and pallet construction material.

I wonder if the industry knows about it, but can you imagine the size the microwave would have to be to use on large amounts of wood? It would have to be as big as a house as it would not be effective to do a couple small pieces at a time but yes, you do make a great point. Out of curiosity, when the ants come back out this spring, I might catch some on a piece of wood and throw it in the micro just to find out if it affects them.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I wonder if the industry knows about it, but can you imagine the size the microwave would have to be to use on large amounts of wood? It would have to be as big as a house as it would not be effective to do a couple small pieces at a time but yes, you do make a great point. Out of curiosity, when the ants come back out this spring, I might catch some on a piece of wood and throw it in the micro just to find out if it affects them.

Would be like the Kilns they use, big enough for what it needs to be.

 

[robo hippy]

I know the lumber companies have tried the microwave idea for kiln drying wood, but discarded it. Not sure why though. Lots of lumber mills here. I do wonder what a vacuum kiln would do to the bugs. The wood that I have used that was dried that way cut like air dried wood

robo hippy

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I know the lumber companies have tried the microwave idea for kiln drying wood, but discarded it. Not sure why though. Lots of lumber mills here. I do wonder what a vacuum kiln would do to the bugs. The wood that I have used that was dried that way cut like air dried wood

robo hippy

Yes Reed, there was a write-up from Russ Fairfield on this, it was about these super fast drying with Dishwasher soap and DNA drying and Microwave, a bit like the bug killing we have going on, ETC.

These I saved, you might recall these, it is good to have thereto let some know "New too good to believe super proceses" ;-))

 

[Dave Hulett]

And don't use the microwave in your kitchen. Especially if your married.

you got that right.... i learned from experience!

 

[Tom De Winter]

I must have the most understanding wife in the world!