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There are
many species of wood boring insects (Wood Borer) that attack the wood in trees when
it is still in the forest. At this stage, the wood is still
protected by the living tree's natural defenses. Once
felled, and milled these defenses are removed and the wood
is vulnerable to attack if untreated. Once the timber is dry
the list of insects likely to attack lowers again, but there
is still a small list of wood borer that can attack and cause
damage to houses and furniture here in New Zealand.
These insects are limited to certain wood types, for
example the Two toothed lonicorn is limited to New Zealand
native Rimu. Of the New Zealand wood boring insect pests,
the most common is the Furniture Beetle (Anobium Punctatum)
a.k.a Common house borer or woodworm. Although this beetle
prefers pine, it will also attack certain hardwoods. Attacks
are more likely to start in subfloors. This is because the
conditions here are more favourable than the hotter roof
areas. |
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