Woodworm

The majority of cases of woodworm holes are due to long gone infestations, and are quite harmless. A high percentage of pre-1900 buildings have minor historic woodworm damage.

Holing is less often caused by active infestation.

Woodworm like holes can also be caused by drawing pin use.

Species

Woodworm is a catch-all term for several species of wood boring insects.

Prevention of Woodworm

• Avoid building with sapwood
• Resolve any genuine damp & rot problems
• Avoid build up of soil or debris against wood

Prevention of resulting problems

• Avoid sanding old floorboards, as revealing worm tracks makes them look pretty bad.
• Avoid spending money on expensive and toxic treatments when they are not normally needed.
• Bear in mind that woodworm does not normally threaten a building's structural integrity, so there is no urgent rush involved.
• Be cynical of pressure and panic from salespeople with pound signs in their eyes.

Treatment

In cases of old infestations, no treatment against woodworm is necessary. Timber only needs to be replaced if it is very badly wormed. Timber may also be replaced for cosmetic reasons.

Active infestations may be controlled by

• resolving dampness issues
• insecticide
• UV fly killing units
• UV & sticky traps

Note that these control measures only kill insects when they finally emerge, at which time the damage is already done. Prevention of further attacks may be more useful.