TIP: The Dirt on Worms

and this is not gonna be pretty, my friends.  it won't bring on the goosebumps that sprang up on my spine when i scanned the 4th lice note of the year.  (ew.  where do they come from????) however, it's tizzy-worthy and will make you run for your drawers.  the pull OUT kind not those that pull UP and ON.


onward.


you've seen these cutie-pitootie pocks purposely placed on wood pieces to make them appear all rough and tumble and character-filled.

via

what do you think when you spy the not-so-purposely-placed-by-people-pocks?

"looky here, verna!  i done looked past my red solo cup and spied me some o' dem wormy holes on that thar table down yonder !  ain't dat da cutest thaaaang?"  

via

"well, skip-to-my-lou, charla...yer one lucky momma!  jimmy joe's gonna be just tickled when he sees you caught yerself a big one!"


"bet i can sell that fer double on that there etsy shop of mine.  ya'll know how people are like a pig in poop over them thangs.  yessirree.  gonna be able to git myself a new sleeve o' solo cups with that there profit, i'd say, and i'll spot you a new carton o' smokes if ya run down and pick 'er up for me.  go on, now. that's a whole carton for ya, verna.  hurry up!"




... and here's the cute little table that sweet ole' charla spied....wormholes and curves.

sadly, what miss verna and miss charla don't know is that they's about to open a big ole can o' worms--LITERALLY.  yep, the pock-marking culprit is possibly gone but his little critters are planted there waiting to infest any sweet source of wood in da' hood.  or your house.


ew.  i know.  sad part is that table was really not verna's find...it was mine.  and lucky for me my maw and paw (hard to drop the hillbilly once ya start) had a termite-cident in their florida home that was bright in my mind when i spied the spots of "saw dust" splattered nearby.


next, i googled. and googled.  and oogled what i googled.


i learned that the wood-drilling vermin was likely a powder-post beetle, a rather hard to eliminate critter that can lay dormant in wood for years.  and years.  most often, as with termites, a moist environment is preferred so watch out for the warped and warbled wood pieces.

see that wavy, warped wood?

okay, now do you see it?

and meet the worm holes on the underside of the drawers!  

sure enough, the curvy, worm-infested above table lived at a woman's shore house for years before sauntering into my life, though it had no other evidence of water damage.


what did i do to get rid of these unwelcome squirming worms?  nuthin'.  nada. zip.  zilch.


i found out that they are more difficult to destroy than termites and--hold on for the stinky part--you don't know if they're gone or not until they start drilling through wood again.  yup.  that table was trashed.  sad. very.

hey, don't get all feisty on me about it till you read this tidbit of information to keep in mind:


"Infestations of ppb (powder post beetle) sometimes die out on their own accord. Therefore, it is important to be able to determine whether the infestation is active or inactive. Active infestations will usually have powder the color of fresh-cut wood sifting from the exit holes. In contrast to old, abandoned holes, new holes will not have taken on the weathered appearance of the surrounding wood. Powder streaming from recently opened holes may accumulate in small piles beneath the exit holes. If these piles of powder are covered over with a film of dust or debris, the damage is old. Careful observation may be required to distinguish new powder from frass which has been dislodged from old larval galleries by vibrations." (via)


yep, my table dribbled the bright, cheerful frass of an active infestation and any cure for the creatures was going to kill the table.


party  o  v  e  r.


now that i'm educated and expert-ish on spotting these buggers, you might guess that i don't end up with any swiss-cheese-like-worm-damaged furniture.


nope, i'm not that smart.  but i'm smart enough to end this long-winded post so you can mosey on with yer day.  


go on now...scat!  


yes, i'll post a "part deux" with the dish on my dummy dim-wit purchase.  later.  much.


off to meet verna and charla at the gym!  

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