Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

I'm sorting out my garage and there's a huge shelf on wooden supports which both appear to have woodworm.
Years ago I would have given it priority and treated it straight away, but these days it doesn't seem to be regarded as anything terrible.
.........and the woodworm treatment is very pricey!!

Any thoughts?

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

I was under the impression it can spread so depends whether you value your other woods.

Tbh when we've had a piece with wood worm, we buy second hand furniture so if happens occasionally, we've accepted our losses and burned the item to make sure it's no problem to us or anyone else. But when you are paying only a few pounds for something you don't want to spend a lot on treating it.

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

Ah yes, the Anobium Punctatum, if I remember correctly!

I used to work for a dampcoursing company and can still remember the latin names.

Merulias Lacrymans and Serpula Lacrymans. Wet and Dry Rot, respectively, I recall.

Though I'm sure someone will correct me.

There is treatment for woodworm, yes. Whether you want to spend out, is up to you.

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

Get the wood out and burn it, it will spread , if you have any wood in your garage ( wooden roof?) check it or better still treat it with woodworm treatment

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

Woodworm to treat or not to treat?
Definitely treat the Woodworm, I would suggest whisky for the males and chocolates for the ladies.

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

Thanks everyone - after a trip to the only superstore around, I found it's cheaper to replace the wood than to buy the stuff to treat it!!

Decision made!

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

Often the way sadly lindyloo don't forget to burn the affect wood though.

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

I found signs of active woodworm in a cupboard under the stairs and used Cuprinol 5 star wood treatment. Easy to apply by brush or via a garden sprayer. I used the spray under the floorboards as it stops rot too. that was a year ago and I haven't seen any activity since.

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

I think that it would be a much better idea if you could get rid of the woodworms. They usually thrive in warm and humid conditions. I bought a dining table from [link removed]After about 2 years or so the table was riddled with holes. It turns out that the room had a leak and the damp environment helped the worms to work its way to the wood. Sometimes if you leave the holes as it is the woodworms would grow into beetles and they may start laying eggs. You wouldn't want it to turn into a breeding ground. I got rid of the woodworms by using boron powder. You can get this in any hardware store. You can find plenty of tips about it online.

Re: Woodworm - to treat or not to treat?

It's funny because we all know that woodworm can be very destructive but I think the holes look quite attractive in old furniture.