Woodworm - Smell

[John]

Is there a characteristic smell from a woodworm infestation?

Reason for asking - a house has a strange smell just inside the door. I have recently fixed a leak on the central heating - but didn't notice a particular smell from the leak - or the area of damp lath and plaster at the other end of the house.

Knocking around the pipes caused some dust to fall from an open end of some pipe boxing - near to the source of the smell - could this be evidence of woodworm - or just old sawdust? Might disturbing the pipes have created a slight leak elsewhere on the heating system and this is causing the smell?

Will go and investigate further tomorrow. Smell is a bit cabbagy / damp nappy.

[TheScullster]

"John" wrote

Our house had a long-term leak under the (concrete) floor when we took it on

5 years ago. Many of the door frames and skirtings had rotted close to ground level and needed replacing/patching. Raking out the crumbly wood fragments released a distinctive musty smell similar perhaps to what you describe.

Would be worth looking at woodwork close to the leak site and maybe broggling with a screwdriver. Some of our door frames looked OK at first glance, but a prod with a screw driver exposed upto 6" of rot above ground level.

Phil

[jim]

I'd say no but I don't have the best sense of smell. IMHE it is more likely any smell is coming from other wood damage such as fungus decay (dry or wet rot) which might also have associated woodworm infestation.

IMHO the underside of floors next to the ground without a sound dpc under a good concrete base smell musty and awful, even thiough they are the ultra modern fashion.

Suggest you check for damp seepage. If no concrete base you will need to find ways of increasing the airflow across and between the air bricks venting the underside of the floor.

An outside chance is a rotting dead mammal, such as a mouse or rat.

HTH

[Andrew Gabriel]

Don't think woodworm smell, but they prefer wood with a high moisture content, and such wood might smell.

I might be concerned about dry rot from what you've said. That has a smell. The spores make for an orange/brown dust (if it's got as far as generating a fruiting body). Leaking pipework is quite a common cause of dry rot.

[mail]

Dear John Answers respectively No Possibly but depends on dust - look under a x 10 lens and lood for lemon shaped pellets Even if it is WW the chances are that it is dead if the house is more than 100 years old. Don't know but unlikely.

Chris