Dealing with Woodworm

Gael23

Been clearing out my grandparents attic and found a wooden clock which is unfortunately infested with Woodworm. It was a wedding present to my grandads parents in 1934 and had been stored in this attic since their deaths 8n the early 1980s.

Is there any way of saving it?

jack of all

I'm no expert but I rescued many vintage wooden bodied tools and some furniture that had problems with wood worm infestation. If the item is small enough (timber handles etc) I've bagged them and put them in a freezer for a few months, followed by treatment with a proprietary woodworm killer. I use a syringe to inject clear woodworm killer (solvent based) into the flight holes, flooding the galleries created by the woodworm beetles. If the infestation is bad I may repeat the treatment. When the wood is fully treated and dry I usually fill the flight holes with a Brummer wood stopping in a matching shade. filling the holes is the only way to know if you've successfully treated the problem as new flight holes (hopefully not!) will be immediately apparent. Of course with items of value it best to leave repairs to the experts but at the very least you can attempt to treat the woodworm yourself, if nothing else it will halt the spread of it and give you some hope of saving the piece.

cnocbui

Yes, inject all holes with woodworm killer, and then do it again. Worked on an old coffin stool I have.