I just had a new detached garage built – pole-building type. After the floor was poured I noticed sawdust around almost half of the 6X6 poles – typical of powder post beetles – the exit holes are also present along with sawdust around them and up the sides of the posts. A couple posts (all are 13+’ tall) have almost 1/4-cup of sawdust on the floor and/or on top of the girts. The posts are CCA treated.
I have been assured by the builder that it is fairly common for the bugs to escape the treated poles and he is not surprised by them. He is getting me a letter from the folks that treated the poles concerning this and explaining that it is “normal”.
No one I have talked to has heard of this problem and I have never experienced it with any other treated wood I have used. Is it common? I thought the treatment was to kill all these critters? What does it mean for the long term? Is the structural strength of the poles compromised? Will the beetles migrate to the untreated wood and infest it?
Thanks for your expertise! Bill
Replies
They're probably southern pine beetles. I'd be pretty leery about them.
Not sure I'd take his word for it. Call in a home inspector and get a written pest report, and/or call in a pest control service for their opinion.
If you can, take a look at the cross section of the posts to se if the treatment has penatrated fully. No insect can survive being put in a vacumme chamber and then flooded with CCA chemicals. If they can I would call the X files to investigate. ;-) And yes the beetles can infest other wood in the area. Usually they are found in furniture and the furniture is fumigated.