Treating Reclaimed Wood For Insects

Step 1 wash the wood with soap and water and allow it to dry completely.

Treating reclaimed wood for insects.

Take your reclaimed wood outside and wrap it in a heavy plastic. In fact of all the projects we ve created there was only one time i actually saw a bug on a piece of reclaimed wood. If you suspect a piece of wood has bugs you ll need to hit it with some insecticide of your own. Make sure you have rubber gloves on for this step.

You don t want the critters invading the inside of your home. This video is a demonstration of an experiment in killing wood boring insects in lumber furniture and other wooden objects. I have a fear of making some beautiful project and then having it begin to crawl. Pressure treated wood since pressure treated wood is infused with pesticides to prevent rotting and bug infestation it is a common assumption that pressure treated wood is a good choice for reclaimed wood projects to avoid the insect issues.

If necessary thaw the item and repeat the freezing to kill any persistent bugs in the wood that seem resistant to freezing. Here are the methods one can use to treat reclaimed wood for bugs. This can be done by placing the wood in a chest freezer or commercial freezer if you have access to one and leaving the item in for at least 72 hours. Hand sand corners edges and other areas.

Step 2 sand the entire surface of the wood along the grain with a sander and 250 grit sandpaper to make it smooth. Place it outside in the sun on a hot day. Freeze the wood for some time killing insects in and on the wood. Removing or preventing bugs in reclaimed wood.

Wrap wood in plastic. I ll admit the idea of bugs living in the wood we bring inside gives me the heebie jeebies but it obviously hasn t kept me from using reclaimed wood in our projects. The goal is to get the core temp. Plus they are epensive.

Certainly the temperature inside the plastic will get hot enough to force the bugs out of the wood. Prime the reclaimed wood with termite resistant solution to protect the wood from termites and other insects prime the lumber with a borax solution. It seems as though everything i read says to treat the wood with costly pesticide glaze type thingys. Treating wood with a water seal helps it repel moisture blocks harmful insects and keeps the wood looking its best.