My Hardwood Floors Have Bug Holes

So laminate starts to sag and blister.

My hardwood floors have bug holes.

First the adult beetle lays its eggs on the wood surface then the larva bores through. I just had my new hardwood floor installed. This how to refinish wood floors article will show you how to do just that. The insects emerge as adults through tiny round exit holes.

Additionally old house borer exit holes are typically oval with ragged edges. If there are termites you will see holes in the food or the wood will seem layered with brown frass. But i do see some holes in the wood similar to pictures on the web for powderpost beetles. These beetles grow to 1 2 to 1 inch long and only attack softwoods primarily pine.

If the floor is infected with bettles or termites when will i see them. Of course if you have found such a rotten joist or floor board you can try to sand it to living tissue and cover with special chemical against termites. New flooring is installed and finished and then months or even years later small holes develop. These small beetles grow to about 1 8 inch long as adults.

The floor is red oak. I have seen what you described many times. Small holes caused by woodworm are typically found below the floor s surface. Regardless of where an infestation has started evidence will eventually emerge in these places.

Start your search around the floor s edges and under windows where adult beetles tend to fly towards light. But as long as the damage is shallow in the coating and not in the wood itself you can renew the hardwood floor by adding a new coat of polyurethane right over the old finish. These are emergence holes made by adult beetles leaving the wood. If you see larger holes up to the size of a dime this could indicate you have old house borers.

If you have hardwood floors the infestation can t be seen even for some years. Now back to the floor. But afterwards floors be one weaker. Floor tiles become loose if termites damage joists floor supports the floor may start sagging.

But pay a close attention whether the joist is load bearing or not. The floor was installed for a good deal. Most hardwood floors have been dried and aged but were part of a tree and then board at one time. Their damage to hardwood flooring happens when their larvae bore into the wood through surface cracks.

Termites may eat the backing of the laminate floors. Larvae hatch enter the wood and feed excreting sawdust like waste called frass that is often visible on the floor. The holes are created when the adult beetle emerges from its underground womb and they can also cause a lot of damage from within the flooring too.