So, I have noticed on the roof there are loads of very fine looking sawdust all over the main timbers. Spent ages reading about woodworm but cannot find any flight holes or bugs and the timbers are bone dry….

On super close inspection I have found 3 ‘cracks’ which look they are filled with an amber coloured sap. Now this could be the wood but it doesn’t look like it. Prodding it it is really brittle and breaks off.

Could this be something else like wasps? There was an old very small nest on the floor of the loft when we moved in 6 years ago. It is very possible the timbers have been like this for years and I’ve only just noticed. Super paranoid I’ve got a problem…

House is Victorian but I reckon the roof was probably replaced in the last 30 years or so. So a mix of timbers.

Any ideas?

I think the amber coloured sap is actually sap, seen this many times in lofts. If you tap the timbers with the woodworm like holes, take notice if any powder/dust falls out. If it does then the woodworm is probably live and it will need treating with a spray. Timbers can suffer from worm but can still be structurally sound so after a spray they can be saved and timbers neednt be replaced. Wasps from my experience dont damage such large timbers, they only scrape the surface to make paper to make nests.

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Thanks for the post, tried tapping the wood and can’t see any more dust come out, plus I can’t actually see any holes but the timber is very rough finished.

I’m wondering if it is just sawdust in cobwebs when we had the loft hatch increased in size.

I’ve wiped two of the timbers off as much as I can and will see if anymore comes back.

If I was to spray what product would you recommend? I’ve seen boron mentioned.

+1 for it just being sap although photos would help. As for spraying I’d use 5 star wood treatment, it will treat dry rot, wet rot, woodworm, and fungal infestation, not that it sounds like you’ve got any of those, but if your going to spray your trusses might as well spray for everything.

I’ll get back up there tomorrow night and see if I can take some half decent photos. I’ve dug one of the cracks out to see if I could find any bugs but got nothing. There is alot of the powder/sawdust about though, on virtually all the timbers which is worrying me.

Loft is filled with stuff so spraying would be a major pita.

I used to work for a mates company treating woodworm and dry rot in buildings, filthy shitty job btw. So with my credentials out of the way 😉 i’d spray all exposed timbers with a liberal solution of permethrin, it belongs to the Pyrethroids (chrysanthemum family) and primarily acts as a neurotoxin disrupting the correct function of nerve cells in insects (and cats/fish).

Dependant on the infestation of the area to be treated i used to use a water based emulsion solution that varied between 1% to .2% and liberally soaked all timbers with a high pressure lance and fine mist spray head, fwiw i also continue to treat my tents and tarps with a permethrin solution.

If you need solution then i may have some in the shed, dunno quite how much is left but it may be enough once watered down to safe applicable levels.

The amber-coloured stuff reads like ordinary resin, like you’d expect in conifer wood. It fills cracks naturally, seals wounds and such. And in geologic time, resin forms amber.

Hmm, interesting thread (no seriously 😯 ), so apologies for the hijack :wink:. We’re still in the process of buying a house that needs treatment in the loft for furniture beetle. Are you guys, particularly the likes of Somafunk ,saying a DIY spray will get the same results as one of those 25 yr guaranteed specialist callout timber monkey treatments @ £500?

Are you guys, particularly the likes of Somafunk ,saying a DIY spray will get the same results as one of those 25 yr guaranteed specialist callout timber monkey treatments @ £500?

In all honesty?….yep, and as you’re doing it yourself and paying more attention/taking your time because it is your own house it may be a better treatment.

But!….as long you clear all the shite out of your attic, brush down the timber beams before hand, pull back the loft insulation and high pressure spray the joists, roof beams and pay particular attention to the eaves and around any air bricks.

If you can be trusted to water a garden you can treat your own attic for worm, especially if go to a hire centre and hire a high pressure pump and lance for the weekend, just watch where you stand in the attic. 😉

Ok, so it’s a job best done before moving in and shoving everything in the loft. Will the Cuprinol 5 star treatment do the job? Anything you recommend? Cheers

The cuprinol stuff will not be as effective as a commercial pyrethroid based solution, it’s a few years since i sprayed anything so i’m a bit out of the loop with what is currently available but a quick google turns up soluguard woodworm treatment that in the correct dilution rate contains permethrin at a .2% emulsion, this is at the lower % end of what i used to spray, if you suspect you have worm or boring insects then double up the solution rate to .4% and be careful when spraying, ie: wear a mask etc……. Personally i used to climb about baking hot attics in the summer in a pair of shorts and trainers whilst dripping with sweat and permethrin solution for hours at a time so i was never that fussed bout what harm it did, i was younger and more foolish back then though and it was common to lose 8lbs+ of weight through sweat alone as some of the attics were like ovens in the height of summer, a pair of shorts, trainers and a 2litre camalback full of iced water was my safety gear.

Nice one somafunk. I’ll definitely check that stuff out if this purchase finally goes ahead!

Okay attempted to take some photos….

link here, I’ll try to work out how to post the best ones in a minute

I cannot see any damage to the surface of the timbers (other than where I dug out a crack to see if I can find bugs).

The timbers I wiped have stayed clean. I am positive I would have noticed this amount of ‘stuff’ on the beams before.

I’ve seen a number of dead, very small clear white spiders. Googling images of termites they don’t look like that, more spidery….don’t know if it could be but the white stuff looks more like dead bugs than wood sawdust, but I really can’t tell think I need a microscope
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44108154@N06/

DSCN0507 by darren_thorp, on Flickr

Not woodworm. Those look like little shavings of wood that have been ripped out by a saw. Woodworm will leave distinctive entry-exit holes, from which you can sometimes see a trail of fine dust and there will be dust on flat surfaces beneath.

Stop worrying about it and go and ride your bike.

DSCN0498 by darren_thorp, on Flickr

I think you’re right, probably is just sawdust….paranoid my roof is going to collapse!