Do uv light insect zappers attract adult Bora beatles?

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afe66

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#282756 10-Mar-2021 11:06

I have a lovely 100 plus year old villa in the deep south which does have bora issues underneith. (Booked for spraying later this year)

Previously I have set off bora bombs if we are away during the summer when adult beatles hatch but I wonder if that just kills the adults flying around then and not those that energe 2 months later.

As I now have kids I wonder about safety of recurrent setting off fumigation bombs several times per year and was wondering about those uv light insect kappers.

I'm thinking I could install a semi industrial one that advertises 100m2 coverage for $150 and run it continously for 4 months or when ever adult hatch season is.

Unfortunately I haven't come specific references to bora and uv lights just generic references which list beatles as attracted.

On the other hand have come across references suggesting putting those zappers outside is the insect equivalent of drift netting, catching all and killing them. But I'm proposing to place unit under the house so that doesn't bother me.

Are adult bora beatles too small to get killed ? Do the insects gave to be certain size to touch the zapping surfaces ?

Thoughts?
Opinions?
Experiences?

Eva888

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#2670990 10-Mar-2021 11:27

We had a staircase built in our house that was the only thing that was riddled with borer. Apparently all rimu staircases of the 1978 era in Wellington by the same outfit were having similar problems as they had been made of untreated heart rimu. Ours was carpeted and so we didn’t notice till too late.

We bombed once and it still persisted. We brought in the exterminator and he sprayed all the stair timber but a week later we were still seeing borer dust everywhere and this kept going for quite a while. A friend suggested to soak the timber with kerosene which we did. Smell was very strong for a week but to this day we haven’t had any more signs of borer. We eventually changed a lot of the treads that were very damaged.

Ours was easier to manage because all other wood in the house was treated timber. I was however concerned about the fumes and possible fire risk.

Bung

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#2671018 10-Mar-2021 12:06

Eva888: We had a staircase built in our house that was the only thing that was riddled with borer. Apparently all rimu staircases of the 1978 era in Wellington by the same outfit were having similar problems as they had been made of untreated heart rimu.

If it had been all heart rimu it probably wouldn't have been that affected. The borer grubs would have stuck mainly to the softer sap wood and left the heart alone. Bombs and sprays are surface treatments that get the emerging beetles but don't reach the grubs still inside chewing away. For smaller things like furniture you can try injecting an insecticide into the holes in the hope that it will soak the area they're active in.

Fred99

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#2671068 10-Mar-2021 13:51

Eva888: Apparently all rimu staircases of the 1978 era in Wellington by the same outfit were having similar problems as they had been made of untreated heart rimu.

Probably not actually heart rimu - it's usually quite borer resistant unless it's been wet. I guess borer beetle aren't fond of heart rimu for the same reason humans may not be so fond of it - working with it (ie sanding) without a dust mask / extraction. I guess the stairs may have been rimu sapwood - or something else.

On the cold and previously damp-ish (when brick clad) side of our house, rimu studs were unaffected by borer, but the builder must have used some offcuts/rejects with sapwood for dwangs, patches of the dwangs had been eaten through.

afe66

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#2671100 10-Mar-2021 15:04

I think bora not like heartwood because it was lesser amounts of starch which grubs eat with fungal digestion. Also reason why slightly damp wood preferred as that's what the fungi like

mdooher

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#2671107 10-Mar-2021 15:10

Eva888: A friend suggested to soak the timber with kerosene which we did. Smell was very strong for a week but to this day we haven’t had any more signs of borer.

Funny, I did the same thing to a wide windowsill... we had to to stay at my parents for a couple of nights the smell was so strong. However it is the best borer treatment I have ever seen.

Matthew