I scored some (almost) free CVG Douglas fir several months ago, and I'm finally getting around to thinking of its best use. It is beautiful wood, ruler-straight grain, clear as Lake Tahoe, and has up to 30+ rings per inch. The pieces were part of an old workbench, and have a few odd drillholes here and there, but I like used wood a lot.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of bug holes, from at least two kinds of bugs, given the diameters of the holes. I have had the wood for several months now, and have seen absolutely no sign that the bugs are still in there. No bugs, no eggs, no bug parts, no suspicious sawdust. I have had carpenter ants in my house twice, and know the look of ant sawdust, but have seen nothing on this fir.
Is there any way short of cutting the wood into little strips to find out if the bugs are still present and alive somehow?
Alternatively, I could treat the wood preemptively, just to make sure. I'd rather not use poison, because I intend to use the wood as part of a dresser. Does anyone know how much heat it takes to kill most wood-eating insects? I saw a method for killing bedbugs that uses a temporary styrofoam heat box for an entire mattress. If some reasonably low heat could kill the bugs, I could rig one up myself.
Thanks!