Eradication of pests
Chemical approach
Application of
pesticides directly to infested wood is a less certain option, which, if
effective, requires up to a year or more to achieve control.
There is no
environmentally approved chemical product to do what you want. Chemical products
seldom kill the worms in the wood, because they do not penetrate deep in the
wood. Gas under pressure is the only thing that can reach them. Chemical
approach merely kills the beetles as they leave the wood; as a result, there
will be no reinfestation. At the best luck, chemicals could successfully kill
the worm, since worm tunnels sometimes cut across old tunnels of exited worms
and this will give a toxic path to the active worm. If you want to kill the worm
with no luck, you must be prepared to a long-term battle with only one winner,
and it is not need to be you. It is hard to determine 2-D location of the worm,
since sound could come through tunnels to surface disfigured and you should also
to determine the depth of the worm. You will have to drill a pretty large area
of the wood but the worm would still play its melody. Maybe you cannot afford to
drill surface of the wood because of aesthetic reason or static reason.
Householders who
had applied timber treatment chemicals in their homes, or whose homes had been
professionally treated, also experienced unusual symptoms. These included sore
eyes, nose and throat, coughing and sneezing, headaches, nausea, skin rashes and
lethargy. In some extreme cases victims suffered spasms, which were diagnosed as
epilepsy, and others developed rare cancers and blood diseases. Some very
unfortunate cases of exposure to timber treatment pesticides have resulted in
death.
Using toxic
chemicals in home should be questioned and alternatives sought. A 1998
occupational study on a male workforce involved in wood preservation suggested
that chlorophenol exposure might increase the risk of soft tissue sarcoma. There
was an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with chlorophenate
wood preservative exposure among sawmill workers. Results from a study in
Germany that investigated the adverse effects of wood preservatives used in
daycare centres showed a significantly reduced birth weight and length in the
offspring of females exposed to non-pesticide organochlorines, pentachlorophenol
(PCP), lindane and indicated that a toxic effect might have effected the foetus.
Some of the newest items in the pest control are the boric acid products. These
are available as liquid concentrates and water-soluble powders for application
to the surface of wood. Borates penetrate wood very slowly and are persistent,
non-volatile compounds that inhibit local infestation of all wood-destroying
organisms.
The commercially
available chemicals are all toxic to humans and to animals to one degree or
another. Some have been clearly identified as causing serious long-term health
effects including cancer and reproductive problems. However, their correct and
safe use in accordance with label instructions and legal requirements should not
normally endanger the health of people or non-target animals. |