Insects/bugs on new sycamore shelving

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by battenburg, Jul 20, 2019.

  1. battenburg

    battenburg New Member

    I made some alcove shelves out of a piece of waney edged sycamore. Some of the bark was still on the wood and I left it there. They're nothing fancy, but it was one of my first ventures into DIY so I was pretty happy. This was a couple of months ago, and I have been intending to a coat of beeswax and oil but hadn't quite got around to it.

    A week or so ago I noticed a dark brown powder/dust on the bedside cabinet beneath the shelves, but just assumed it was associated with some of the bark flaking off. Today I took something off one of the shelves and noticed some dark coloured tiny bugs/mites/beetles (not quite sure - they're probably a 1mm or less) in the vicinity of the bark on the side above the dust.

    I had an immediate panic and have taken all the shelves outside for a closer look. I can see very few other bugs - if any now - and no visible holes. I have flaked off some of the remaining bark and there is a layer of dark brown dust beneath it which could well be the source of the dust that I saw previously- it looks the same.

    So, I'm just looking for advice in terms of what these could be and if I should be concerned. The tell-tale sign for wood worm seems to be - according to the internet anyway - exit holes, and there are aren't any of those as far as I can tell. Are there other insects (hopefully harmless ones!) that could have lived on/within the bark when the tree is growing and therefore could have just been transported into the house?

    At the moment I'm tempted to keep the shelves outside, get them waxed and just monitor whether there is evidence of any other insects or if flaking the bark off has removed wherever they were and will resolve the issue. I'm not keen on treating the wood without good reason as I was trying to make them as 'natural' as possible.

    Advice appreciated - thanks!
     
  2. gas monkey

    gas monkey Well-Known Member

    the Mrs is a big gardener she said could be anything google away sorry
     
  3. rogerk101

    rogerk101 Screwfix Select

    I would buy a water based pesticide and give them a good dose of that for starters. Leave to dry for a few days and treat with Danish oil. However, make sure you've done a good job of sanding them with finer and finer sanding papers because while the Danish oil does a wonderful job of highlighting the grain and bringing out the best the wood has to offer, it also highlights any left over sanding scratches.
     

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