I thought it was only termites I had to worry about in Hawaii. Nope! Apparently there are other wood boring insects around. Sigh...
We've seen these little bugs flying around the house and thought they were just flour beetles.
I couldn't understand it because I keep my flour in the freezer now. We looked around the kitchen and didn't find the bugs in any of the food.
Then we found droppings under the rear wooden leg of the loveseat in the living room.
When I called Aloha Termite Control they said it was probably powder post beetles which would cost us more than twice the cost to poison in their furniture truck.
We looked up the beetle online and it really didn't look like our bugs.
Alvin Fukuyama of State Termite and Pest Control is who we called next. He's a very wonderful fellow we met at a wedding a long time ago who gave us very helpful advice about three years ago when we found termite droppings by our screen doors.
We showed him the droppings and the bugs and larva that we also found.
He advised us to take the wooden part of the furniture that appeared to be infested and spray it with Term-Out. He also said we should put the smaller wooden part into the freezer for about a week to make sure any eggs or larva are killed.
Alvin also assured me that our house would not be crumbling around me from zillions of wood eating bugs nibbling away at all the wood. And no, we don't need our house tented for termites.
As for our bug, we found a similar insect online called the cigarette or tobacco beetle. This beetle will eat through cardboard to get to flour or other food products. So why would it be in the furniture?
Sigh....
On the plus side, Alvin said they eat slowly.... I hope.
We've seen these little bugs flying around the house and thought they were just flour beetles.
I couldn't understand it because I keep my flour in the freezer now. We looked around the kitchen and didn't find the bugs in any of the food.
Then we found droppings under the rear wooden leg of the loveseat in the living room.
When I called Aloha Termite Control they said it was probably powder post beetles which would cost us more than twice the cost to poison in their furniture truck.
We looked up the beetle online and it really didn't look like our bugs.
Alvin Fukuyama of State Termite and Pest Control is who we called next. He's a very wonderful fellow we met at a wedding a long time ago who gave us very helpful advice about three years ago when we found termite droppings by our screen doors.
We showed him the droppings and the bugs and larva that we also found.
He advised us to take the wooden part of the furniture that appeared to be infested and spray it with Term-Out. He also said we should put the smaller wooden part into the freezer for about a week to make sure any eggs or larva are killed.
Alvin also assured me that our house would not be crumbling around me from zillions of wood eating bugs nibbling away at all the wood. And no, we don't need our house tented for termites.
As for our bug, we found a similar insect online called the cigarette or tobacco beetle. This beetle will eat through cardboard to get to flour or other food products. So why would it be in the furniture?
Sigh....
On the plus side, Alvin said they eat slowly.... I hope.
I never heard of those bugs before, Kay. I do hope they are under control and not eating your furniture right out from under you! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, brother. There is always some new icky bug to worry about.
ReplyDeleteAh bugs, the plague of warm climate living....glad you found some answers
ReplyDeleteOMG....this is truly terrifying. What about us old folks with all our wooden furniture. Do you know a friend with a walk in freezer. The frame of that sofa is wood too. Oh My.
ReplyDeleteI don't envy you that mess! Bless your heart!
ReplyDeleteSigh. I remember the first time I found a carpenter bee, identified for me back in the dark ages, by the local agricultural extension. The confined themselves to the deck, which the next owner had to replace.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have never heard of, let alone seen that type of insect. Drat, just another creepy crawly to look out for! Since I'm on ag land, there's pasture and lots of trees around, which translates to lots of centipedes! When they get in the house, it's chaos, but if the cats gang up on the centipede, it's a goner. Love those cats! Merry Christmas, Art and Kay, and Aunty! And I hope your New Year celebration portends nothing but good for 2016!
ReplyDeleteGood that you have friends to help you save the anxiety and the money.
ReplyDeleteugly creatures
ReplyDeleteI can't stand bugs in the house, we had a bad roach problem last year
ReplyDeleteHawaii's is a challenging climate, despite it's mildness, with mold, insects, tsunami, our elected officials and other assorted vermin.....
ReplyDeleteDang bugs! It is good that you have eagle eyes and you find these buggahs. My house is such a mess that they could have a party and I still wouldn't know.
ReplyDeleteI hope it gets solved, terrible problem.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like everything is under control. However , you will be watching for any of their relatives.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you have a knowledgeable and helpful resource person to turn to for advice. One of the drawbacks of living in "paradise" I guess.
ReplyDeleteWe did have powder post beetles once in a mirror made in Malaysia, I think, which we bought from World Market. We had had it in our bathroom for about six weeks and one morning we saw a little pile of very fine sawdust....(Never saw a bug anywhere.)
ReplyDeleteWe just returned it to World Market and they let us exchange it for a more expensive one. We never had a problem again. I hope your problem goes away as easily and completely.
"They eat slowly"? That's kind of a funny consolation. ;)
ReplyDelete