How Do You Identify Wood Boring Beetles?
There are three main types of wood-boring beetles, which cause damage to structural wood, decorative wood and even wood furniture: powderpost beetles, deathwatch beetles and false powderpost beetles. Here’s how to identify them. Suspect powerpost beetles if the affected wood is oak, ash, walnut or mahogany, and if you see insects that are brownish or reddish in color. Test further by checking an exit hole in the wood with a ballpoint pen. If only the tip fits in the exit hole, it’s likely made by a powderpost beetle. Test the “frass” too (the fine, dustlike powder that may fall out of exit holes, which is a mixture of feces and food fragments). If it feels like talc, it is likely from a powderpost beetle. Suspect deathwatch beetles if the affected wood is soft, old or partially decayed. If the tip and part of the angled face of a ballpoint pen point fit into the exit hole, you may have identified your beetle. Similarly, if the frass feels gritty or appears as small pellets, you have pr
