Wood Pests
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Oldhouse Borer
This beetle can cause great structural damage, and it will re-infest the same wood after it emerges. Despite the name, it will be found in both old and new housing, and can spread fairly rapidly. Normally it is found in attic and roof timbers, but it can also spread to framing and flooring, going after any softwoods. Females are about an inch long, the males are only half that size. Both are grayish or brownish black in color.
Life Cycle:
Females lay 150-200 eggs in any cracks or crevices they can find in wood. They especially like piles of lumber. In 2-3 weeks, the eggs will hatch. The larvae will feed on sapwood where they remain for 2-10 years, depending upon the moisture content of the wood, completely destroying whatever they infest. They become pupae for about two weeks. The adults remain in the old larval tunnels for another 7-10 months, emerge, mate, and then quickly die off in two weeks or less. The life cycle will be completed in 3-10 years.
