In the northwest corner of Washington state we have an insidious pest that, fortunately for other areas, tends to be found in only a few locations in the country. In the maritime northwest, lucky for us, we get stuck with this bug. The anobiid beetle is a tiny insect, you can barely see one, even if you look at a specimen, but you see their exit holes in lumber. They get inside lumber that has a moisture content of 13% and higher. In our climate it can be difficult to get ANY crawl space below 13% moisture, regardless of vapor barriers and ventilation, etc. The pest larva works over years and, eventually, if the insect is allowed to operate in secret down below, the damage is likely to be extensive. The photo below is a startling example of the destruction. When this pest is found at a home, buyers will ask what can be done to save the house. Obviously it depends on the extent of the damage. Often, at older houses, the problem is very serious and in those cases all seriously damaged anobiid infested wood must be removed and replaced with sound material. That may include posts, joists, beams, sill plate, sub-flooring. Once I found the species working on the wall studs. Below is a photo of a crawl space in Bellingham that was being re-built by the crew, with Mike Pizutto, of Northhhill Construction, Mount Vernon, WA. Mike's firm, based on my experience, does a great job and I refer him to clients who have serious crawl space issues. As a final note, it is usually a good idea to have a pest control treatment as well. That can eradicate the insect but, once serious structural damage has been done, it takes more than simply killing the insect. The wood needs to be replaced when it is shot. Thanks for stopping by, Steven L. Smith
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Steve, great example of Beetle damage----not unusal to see entire floor systems affected---including subfloor.
Charlie,
Nutsy told me that, up until he taught you otherwise, you always wrote this up as: Anobiid Beatle
Thanks for the post... as always... Call me naive, but this is the first I have heard about this beetle... Will be talking to our inspectors here...
Darren,
I bet that you have it up there being close to here and having a maritime climate. I see this a lot in Point Roberts.
We have a tiny insect out here that easily rivasl your little beetle, subterranean termites. One thing about subs, they aren't as picky about moisture content.