OT - killing woodworn in fresh sawn white oak for trailer boards.

[john.k]

International freight timber stuff is fumigated with methyl bromide gas.........I would not worry,as the boards will quickly dry out and be exposed to sunlight the grubs will be dust very quickly when you use the trailer.

 

[trevj]

Trev you are a bad man

heat really is the go to method
microwave
the problem with poisons is the wood has to be saturated, so the wood becomes toxic
seriously talk to exterminators who do microwave

Why, thank you so much! Recognition at long last!

Does anyone think that a solar kiln might get the lumber hot enough to kill off the bugs?

Should not be a whole lot more complicated than stacking the boards to allow airflow through, and wrapping the pile in clear plastic, letting the sun shine on the stuff for a few days or a week, no?

 

[john.k]

I d also be wary of using some poison that will rust the steel in contact with the wood.

 

[Rocketdc]

Does anyone think that a solar kiln might get the lumber hot enough to kill off the bugs?

Should not be a whole lot more complicated than stacking the boards to allow airflow through, and wrapping the pile in clear plastic, letting the sun shine on the stuff for a few days or a week, no?

I built a solar kiln a few years back and remember checking the internal temp on one of the hotter summer days and it only reached about 120-125 degrees. Not quite hot enough to kill the bugs, but I'm in Maryland, maybe a hotter location would do it. Adding an additional heat source would work, but you could probably skip the solar part in that case.

 

[Bill D]

My attic only gets to 125 on a 100 degree day. So a solar kiln anywhere in Canada is not going to do it.
The Mojave desert is flooding today with summer rains. Highway is closed.
Bill D
I would dig a hole in the ground and drop in a capped pvc pipe long enough and big enough to soak some lumber. Or make a horizontal trough lined with plastic sheeting. Mix borax and water and soak the board until the middle is saturated.
Bill D

 

[henrya]

Looking nearby, the OP will find a kiln operator.
But if you want to do it yourself, here ya’ go:

https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs134.pdf

 

[bhigdog]

It's for a trailer. Whatever grubs are there are not going to make a "nest" and eat the wood to dust. They will mature and fly or crawl away. It's for a trailer. A few holes or tunnels will mean nothing. It's for a trailer.............Bob

 

[jccaclimber]

ISPM 15 is the wood shipping spec. Among other acceptable methods are to get the core to 133*F for a minimum of 30 minutes.
I had project years ago where we had to cure some 9ft long composites around that temperature. Turned out to be pretty easy. Got a few pieces of 2” foam board, made a box, there a space heater inside with the thermostat bypassed, a box fan, and a thermometer we could read from the outside so that we knew when to turn it on and off.
The person turning the heater on and off was also on fire watch with a large extinguisher several feet back on all sides, not that we would have stopped it had it really taken off on us.

 

[Overland]

Wow, another 18 posts even though the mods have tried to hide me in the woodwork section !!

Really appreciate all the ideas guys.
The boards are 18' long, so building a kiln won't be simple.
Yes it is just a trailer.
The reason I went with the white oak is that it's strong, rot resistant and I found a local ad on Facebook for a big tree that was down. So I got more than 2 cords of excellent firewood, and more than enough boards for my 25' long gooseneck trailer. I extended the track on a buddies sawmill, so I helped him saw 2 of the logs for me, and I got lots of good exercise !
And at the time this plan was hatched treated yellow pine was pretty pricey.
Back in the UK there's lots of wooden fences that are treated with creosote (not quite sure what it is exactly). Anyway a buddy used to coat his fence with old engine oil, when his wife wasn't around.
Yeah I think I'll liberally coat the bad spots on the boards with kerosene and call it good.
Thanks again guys !
Bob

 

[hvnlymachining]

Used motor oil is the way to go, makes trailer wood ( decks too) last longer than chemical or untreated wood as it doesn't allow the wood to absorb any moisture. If any water happens to sneak in it can get back out on a hot day, where as paint acts like cling wrap and traps the water in the wood.

Also prevents your trailer frame from rusting in those places where wood usually holds water against the steel frame.

By the way, creosote is diesel, tar and a large concoction of chemicals (mostly industrial pesticides and antifungals) We have a sawmill nearby that makes the stuff and treats the lumber for utilities and Rail Roads.

Forgot to mention, USED motor oil has carcinogens which are added to most treatments of lumber just for the express purpose of pesticide and antifungal. So a double win that way and it also suffocates any wood dwellers if liberally applied.

 

[Overland]

Great !
I like recycling

 

[Scottl]

I'll bet you could even smoke the logs using indirect smoking if they are tented by tarps. The little buggers will either die or crawl out to save themselves.

 

[Mark Rand]

I'll bet you could even smoke the logs using indirect smoking if they are tented by tarps. The little buggers will either die or crawl out to save themselves.

Do you use a filter or just make them into a giant spliff? Expiring minds want to know!

 

[Overland]

For those that want to see the holes.
I caught the blade on one of the "dogs", but finish good enough for what I needed.
Bob

 

[Overland]

Thermite,
That's one of the least affected boards, just to illustrate the holes.

 

[DDoug]

Used motor oil is the way to go, makes trailer wood ( decks too) last longer than chemical or untreated wood as it doesn't allow the wood to absorb any moisture. If any water happens to sneak in it can get back out on a hot day, where as paint acts like cling wrap and traps the water in the wood.

Also prevents your trailer frame from rusting in those places where wood usually holds water against the steel frame.

It's simply lovely when you have to walk on it when it's wet.....

 

[john.k]

Mineral oil softens wood and weakens the fibres.....however it also waterproofs it ,and locks out fungus .....so its 50/50........creosote would be OK ,catch is its black and gooey tar residue,and if you come in from a sucessful scrap haul and put black footprints in the hallway,her indoors might object.

 

[hvnlymachining]

"DDoug It's simply lovely when you have to walk on it when it's wet....."

Yes, used to have a heavy duty roll back tow truck with an oiled wood deck (mostly from wrecked leaky machinery/ vehicles.) Always seemed to have to take it out in the rain. Always felt like a kid trying to run up the slide on a winter day. Never had to replace any planking though.

The metal deck trucks were FAR worse with a little oil on them, like walking on ice in hard rubber boots.

 

[scsmith42]

Thermite,
That's one of the least affected boards, just to illustrate the holes.

Overland, I am a miller and kiln operator located in NC, and I am a subject matter expert in this area.

For gooseneck trailer decking, I presume that your oak boards were milled at 1-5/8" green? IF so that is around a 2 month run in a conventional or DH kiln, and around 4 months in a solar kiln.

Your grubs will die off as the lumber dries naturally. They will not stay in dry lumber - only green, so they are not really a concern.

The small holes appear to be either lyctid or ambrosia powder post beetles. You can tell the difference by closely looking at the sides of the holes. If they are stained black, they are from ambrosia beetles. On the other hand, if there is no stain on the sides of the holes - ie just natural wood color - then they are from lyctid powder post beetles.

Like the grubs, ambrosia beetles will leave the lumber automatically as it dries. Lyctid, on the other hand - will stay in dry lumber for up to 7 years before boring out and laying their eggs - repeating the cycle. They are your biggest concern.

As others have mentioned, heat sterilization is the best way to kill any pests in lumber; however you don't want to heat sterilize green lumber. The reason why is that you will cause it to check internally and it will lose a lot of it's structural integrity. Unfortunately, it is not typically cost effective to kiln dry oak trailer decking boards. You can air dry them for 12 months or so and then put them in a kiln for a week to sterilize, but that's a lot of hassle.

For trailer decking, an inexpensive, effective preservative (and bug killer) is to saturate the boards with either used hydraulic oil or ATF. Neither one will contain the carcinogens of used motor oil, and they are also a lot cleaner to work off of.

White oak is water resistant, so you will be limited on how deep the treatment will penetrate, but it can still be effective. What I'd suggest is that you lay the boards down upside down and keep them saturated with the used hyd/atf fluid for a few days, then install them and treat the "show side" the same way. This should not only kill the powderpost beetles, but will help to preserve the oak for 7 - 10 years - more if you re-treat it every couple of years.

Borate treatments such as Timbor (we recommend a 15% solution) are also effective, but they will leach out of the lumber long term and not provide the residual rot protection that the hyd/atf will.

A great lumber treatment is concentrated copper napthenate (CuNap) thinned in diesel fuel. This will also kill any bugs in the lumber but with white oak the depth of penetration will still be limited. I've found that the used hyd/atf is the best compromise between cost and effectiveness.

Best of success to you.

Scott

 

[Overland]

Overland, I am a miller and kiln operator located in NC, and I am a subject matter expert in this area.

For gooseneck trailer decking, I presume that your oak boards were milled at 1-5/8" green? IF so that is around a 2 month run in a conventional or DH kiln, and around 4 months in a solar kiln.

Your grubs will die off as the lumber dries naturally. They will not stay in dry lumber - only green, so they are not really a concern.

The small holes appear to be either lyctid or ambrosia powder post beetles. You can tell the difference by closely looking at the sides of the holes. If they are stained black, they are from ambrosia beetles. On the other hand, if there is no stain on the sides of the holes - ie just natural wood color - then they are from lyctid powder post beetles.

Like the grubs, ambrosia beetles will leave the lumber automatically as it dries. Lyctid, on the other hand - will stay in dry lumber for up to 7 years before boring out and laying their eggs - repeating the cycle. They are your biggest concern.

As others have mentioned, heat sterilization is the best way to kill any pests in lumber; however you don't want to heat sterilize green lumber. The reason why is that you will cause it to check internally and it will lose a lot of it's structural integrity. Unfortunately, it is not typically cost effective to kiln dry oak trailer decking boards. You can air dry them for 12 months or so and then put them in a kiln for a week to sterilize, but that's a lot of hassle.

For trailer decking, an inexpensive, effective preservative (and bug killer) is to saturate the boards with either used hydraulic oil or ATF. Neither one will contain the carcinogens of used motor oil, and they are also a lot cleaner to work off of.

White oak is water resistant, so you will be limited on how deep the treatment will penetrate, but it can still be effective. What I'd suggest is that you lay the boards down upside down and keep them saturated with the used hyd/atf fluid for a few days, then install them and treat the "show side" the same way. This should not only kill the powderpost beetles, but will help to preserve the oak for 7 - 10 years - more if you re-treat it every couple of years.

Borate treatments such as Timbor (we recommend a 15% solution) are also effective, but they will leach out of the lumber long term and not provide the residual rot protection that the hyd/atf will.

A great lumber treatment is concentrated copper napthenate (CuNap) thinned in diesel fuel. This will also kill any bugs in the lumber but with white oak the depth of penetration will still be limited. I've found that the used hyd/atf is the best compromise between cost and effectiveness.

Best of success to you.

Scott

Scott,
Excellent info, and I really appreciate you taking the time.
All the best.
Bob