When the termites infest the structural parts of your house it is a disaster.
When they infest the furniture – it’s a pity.
Though it’s not as destructive for your wallet, the termite infestation even in such a small size can be an unpleasant thing.
Let’s talk about how to recognize, treat and repair the consequences of the termite furniture infestation.
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- What termites can infest your furniture?
- How to treat the furniture infested with termites?
- Useful articles
- Helpful video
- Conclusion
What termites can infest your furniture?
Usually there’re two types of termites that are threatening the wooden structures:
Normally, the insects that are found in the furniture, that is in active use in the household, will be the drywood termites.
They like the soft porous structure of the old wood and they don’t need to have any contact with water as they are naturally equipped to get all the moisture they need from the wood itself.
The colonies of the drywood termite can be localized in as little as one chair, and in full development reach couple of thousands of individuals.The nest is situated right inside the wooden piece, where the reproductives found their cover after the swarm.
If this is the only colony in your house, you might consider yourself a lucky person – treating just this in item will exterminate the termites in your household.
Learn more about drywood termites: signs of their activity; best methods of treatment: spot treatment and DIY methods; how to get rid of them in furniture?
The subterranean termites for the colony establishment need two things: access to the soil and enough moisture. So, usually they are not getting further than the cellar or the wood that is close to the ground.
So, in most cases, if your furniture was standing in dry conditions, then the subterranean termites will not be interested in it. But if you keep any excess of furniture in the cellar, then the subterranean termites might find it tasty.
Removing the piece of furniture from the place, where the termites created their entry point to your house, will cut off the workers trapped inside the wood. Treating it will kill them, but won’t destroy the nest.
The colony itself isn’t located in your building, but somewhere underground next to it. So, if you suspect that the pests in your furniture are subterranean termites, you might want to look at the bigger picture. Because the furniture might be the least of your problems.
Learn more about subterranean termites: signs of their activity; best methods of treatment and DIY methods. Eastern subterranean termites and their tunnels and tubes with photo.
How to treat the furniture infested with termites?
There are several questions that you might be thinking about if your house is infested: “How to get rid of termites in furniture (wood)?”, “How to kill termites in furniture?”, “How to treat termites in wood furniture?”, “How to get termites out of furniture?” etc. and the answer is: “There’re many different methods to fight the local termite infestation.”
If you don’t suspect that the general problem is bigger than just one piece of furniture, you can use the DIY methods to exterminate the pests.
Here’s some termites in furniture treatments:
Heat treatment
The termites do not survive the temperatures higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. So the heat treatment is an easy nontoxic method that can be used by almost anyone.The simplest way of doing it is the most destructive one. You know what I mean. Is this piece of furniture worth saving? Is it an expensive one or something you just wanted to replace some day for better quality?
Do you really want to get into the trouble of treating it properly? Well, if you say it’s a cheap piece of junk, that was to be replaced soon …then burn it. Completely. You can practice your evil laugh watching the nasty creatures die in fire.
Ok, no more joking. The pieces of wood don’t always have to be burned, just warmed up to certain degree and this will kill the termites inside the wood. If the object’s not too big, the oven can do the trick.
If we are talking about a cupboard, you’ll need to find something else. Anyway, be careful and don’t damage the looks of your piece. The glue or the lacquer might get destroyed by the excessive heat as well.
If you’re sure that the infestation is caused by the subterranean termites, you can just simply dry the furniture completely on the sun.Cut off from their nest and the source of moisture, the termites inside the wooden structure will die by themselves. Just make sure that you don’t place the infested wood directly on the ground and use some plastic sheets.
But, as I mentioned before, after this you still need to locate the nest and prevent the termites reentering your home.
Cold treatment
Termites are not surviving the extreme cold as well. So if you have a possibility to place the small object that is infested in the freezer – this will help you.
Do not forget to place it in the plastic bag first, so the wood doesn’t get wet and rot afterwards.Cooling down with nitrogen will be the good termite treatment for wood furniture too.
Termite bombs
The pesticide fogger is a localized termite treatment for furniture that you can perform yourself. Let’s do it step-by-step:
- Place the infested furniture in the closed space, such as garage, on top of several newspapers or plastic sheets. Like this when the dying termites will be falling out of your chair it will be easy to clean the floor afterwards.
- Close all the windows, seal all the holes.
- Spray the gas or liberate is from the bomb as the manufacturer instructs and quickly leave the room, closing the door behind you.
- As the insecticide can be damaging for the lungs if inhaled or severely irritating for the eyes, keep an eye on the pets or kids that might try to enter the place.
- After the time needed (usually it’s one hour) open all the windows and doors to the garage. And after it’s properly ventilated you can enter.
Normally, after this you’ll find your termites lying around dead. If you want to maximize the effect, you can add next two methods to what’s already done.
Natural oils
Orange oil contains d-limonene, which is an active compound that kills termites on contact. It is especially effective on drywood termites that are the most likely infesting the furniture.
Another oil with similar qualities is a Neem oil, but this one needs multiple application to reach a full colony elimination. Essential oils such as clove bud oil, vetiver oil and many others can be efficient too.There are two ways to apply the oils. If you see the visible termite holes in the wood, pour the oil inside them. This will be very good way to ensure the complete extermination after the gas bomb.
Another way is to drill couple of holes in the wood, that will break in the middle of termite corridors and pour the oil inside. Spraying the solution with the mist sprayer might work as well, but it’s mostly recommended as a prevention method.
Wood sealant
This chemical is closing the entry holes and seals the termites inside their own tunnels without any oxygen. It’s an ok furniture termite treatment on its own, but the best is to use it after you almost surely killed the colony with the gas bomb.
Attention! Make sure you know how to apply the sealant, otherwise you might destroy the looks of your furniture.
Boric acid
Boric acid is an insecticide that damages the nervous system of an insect and brings it to an unavoidable death.
Using is quite simple – you’ll need to mix water and borax powder and just apply it where it’s needed with the paint brush.
It’s quite hard to tell if it worked or not in the short period of time, so it’s better to reapply the acid several times and combine it with other methods. But overall, it is a good method of getting rid of termites in furniture.
Fumigation
There are certain chemicals which are used to kill the termites, that cannot be used without special license. For example, the proper sulfuryl fluoride fumigation requires a professional pest operator to perform.
The fumigation of this kind is a highly effective method, because the gas which is used is penetrating the wood through killing all the insects hiding deep in the corridors.It also leaves no trace and is not dangerous to the humans after aeration. But the concentration of the gas inside the fumigation chamber has to be closely monitored by trained professional as it can damage the health of the person exposed to it.
Here you can learn more information about fumigation: dangers for termites, preparing for fumigation and cleaning after, how long does this procedure last?
Useful articles
If you interested in more information of termites we recommend you to read the following articles:
- All types of termites. Are they harmful to humans? Can they bite you? And what is the difference between drywood and subterranean ones?
- What does swarmers of different species look like: drywood, subterranean, formosan?
- Signs of infestation outside and in the house: in walls or furniture.
- What does termite holes look like? What is droppings and is it toxic to humans? Do termites make noises?
- Posible termite damage, how does it look like? Examples of damage in walls and wood floors.
- All about flying termites: how do they look like, swarming season and what to do if there are swarmers in your house?
- How do they do nests and mounds? How to find it in your garden or inside the house?
- Termite life cycle – from egg to larvae. And social hierarchy: workers, soldiers, queen.
Helpful video
How to kill termites in wood:
Conclusion
All those methods will help you to get rid of the existing termite colonies in your furniture. But keep in mind that the best fighting method with those pests is prevention, and after you exterminate them – protect you house from termites coming back.
