Treating woodworm in loft

[bobble07]

Hi all. Had a search but could not find answer for this specific query..

I will be spraying my loft with woodwork treatment, using all necessary PPE. There is definitely woodworm

Does loft insulation all need replacing? I redid some of it a few years ago

If it does not all need replacing, would it be feasible to move it all over one side of the loft, spray the cleared half twice then do the same for the other side?

Also part of loft is boarded, I am planning on taking all these out and spraying both sides outside - is this really necessary if no evidence of woodworm in them? I read woodworm don’t like chip board

I will get all the insulation out and replace it all if necessary.. it’s just going to mean more mess

Any advice appreciated

 

[Lusi83]

Not an expert but I would reuse it. And don't panic. If you think about it if the woodworm got in after the insulation was put down the wood underneath can't be infested as beetles would have to get through the insulation to get to the wood to lay their eggs. If the wood underneath is infested the beetles can't go anywhere but where they emerged from the wood to lay eggs.
I had/have active woodworm in my house (introduced by someone doing DIY and reusing wood from god knows where) and I was panicking about it... but then my dad pointed out that some old barns etc are still standing riddled with woodworm holes! And he had woodworm in one part of his 200+yr old house - they treated that area 40yrs ago and no more problems.
I just treated the wood where I could the obvious infection (and live beetles came out of the dodgy infected piece as I painted the treatment on but they died almost straight away) then I treated other places that the beetles could have got to and kept an eye out for more signs -so far nothing to worry about and it has been 15 years. Apparently they can take 4-5 yrs to emerge from egg laying stage and I did have to treat another couple of places about 5 years after my first treatment but nothing since. I keep an eye out for the beetles (they aim for light so they can find a mate) and I have a few sticky traps I check too. They usually emerge around spring/summer time so that is a good time to look out for beetles/new holes etc.
If you have treated the wood under the insulation and then put it back it is 'safe' from the beetles.
Hope that makes sense...and helps

 

[bobble07]

Thanks for the reply, yeah I am fully aware this may be historic case of woodworm with nothing active. On the loft insulation side, it transpires a lot of it was so old it has pretty much broken down into dust! I got about half of it out yesterday, which does not include any of the newer stuff that I put in a few years ago. I will keep that.

 

[Lusi83]

Good luck - I hate 'playing' with insulation. even fully suited up etc. The other thing I should have said is they need a certain degree of moisture in the wood -so household condensation rising up or any leaks. The original infested wood was in an eaves cupboard next to the bathroom, 5 years later I found some in the skirting behind the toilet - Mr. Bodge-it previous owner had made the cistern into a concealed one but without an internal overflow and I ended up with a ceiling collapse downstairs -that skirting would have been damp when the beetles were emerging and they could have got to it from the back/inside the eaves cupboard. I have timber roof lining (a Scottish thing?) and they have never touched that - whether it is pre-treated someway or they just don't like that kind of wood...