Woodworm and wet rot

[Keefiedee]

I have an open porch (approx. 40 years old) which needs painting. It is in fairly good condition, except for the fascia on one side, at the house end. At that point there is a small amount of wet rot about 2" square (no real idea what might have caused this - it's not on the exposed side). There is also a small amount of woodworm - a scattering of holes in the same situation as the rot, but covering a larger area (6" x 3"). The woodworm doesn't look as if it is active. I'm wondering how to treat it, or whether I need to treat it at all, and also how it might have come about - the rot isn't extensive but could it have made the wood vulnerable to worm, or would it be the other way round?

Keith

[george [dicegeorge]]

Dampness caused it.

But where did the water come from? A leak or condensation. If a leak then what else dmage is it doing?

Is there ventilation to dry it out when a once per year storm blows water up there?

[g]

[Keefiedee]

Do you mean that dampness would have caused the woodworm as well? I'm well used to sorting out wet rot and checking out sources of dampness, though I can't really see a source in this case. It was the woodworm that threw me.

Keith

[The Natural Philosopher]

Probbaly a place that gets a drip from soemwhere..I had rotting fascias on the gables once..turned out to be issues with rain blowing in the roof edge, and running down the soffits and ending up where a beam stuck out. Everything at that point rotted,.

There is also a small amount of woodworm - a

I *think* they are generally independent, but frankly why take any risks? rip the lot out and sort any underlying issues.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have seldom seen *active* woodworm in bone dry wood.

Its become relatively rare since central heating.

Outside, yes, a little.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Yes. Woodworm prefer slightly damp wood (doesn't have to be damp enough to go rotten). They can't live in timber which is dried by central heating, but they can in timbers which are outside the central heating envelope.

[george [dicegeorge]]

As i understand it the woodworm emerge from their wood burrows after a few years and then fly about and find a tasty damp bit of wood to lay their eggs in.

I hope that the ones hatching in my roof will fly outside to the rotten wood in the garden.

Similarly the ones from the rotten wood in the garden wont be interested in my house now that i'v got rid of the dampness.

The chemicals they spray houses with seem dangerous, itchey, invasive, and i'm sure they cant get to every bit of wood...

[g]

[Keefiedee]

Would it make sense to treat the area with woodworm - even though small and inactive looking? I have to say the area of rot and of woodworm are really quite small, and detective work indicates that they may well have been present for several years without getting any worse, so I guess I needed worry too much.

Keith

[The Natural Philosopher]

Agreed. But they don't have to. As long as they get to enough bits rot/worm won't take out a whole timber.

[george [dicegeorge]]

Do the chemicals deter the woodwom fliers from laying eggs? Or somehow poison the worms already deep in the wood? Or kill them as they emerge?

[g]

[Andrew Gabriel]

The chemicals are a mixture of fungicide and insecticide. IME, lavae (of other insects at least) are not particularly susceptable to insecticides, but I don't know about woodworm in particular.

Guarantees for woodworm are sometimes 5 years, which being about the length of time it takes for the worms to emerge, makes the guarantee rather useless. It's also been shown that many of the wood treatment companies were actually spraying little more that water in the first place, before running off with your money.