Anyone with experience of wood beetle treatment?

[ElleDubloo]

We're moving in about 3 weeks into a house we've just bought. Our surveyor said there are no signs of wood beetle infestation, but due to the age of the house (built in 1920's or 30's) he would not be surprised if there are some wood beetles present but hidden. Therefore he said we should treat it anyway, before we move in, because it's good to do it while the house is empty.

Does anyone know if this is good advice or not? I've been looking extensively online but no website mentions preventative treatment in cases where there are no signs of active infestation.

I don't know whether to book it or not, because it seems a little excessive to me. But I don't want to be worrying about the fact that we haven't done it, for years to come!

Thanks in advance!

if you have a look at the bathroom floor and round the loft hatch, there might be some. They could be hidden under floor coverings or behind the bath panel, or in the staircase, and difficult to see without moving everything.

They like warmth and damp. Modern houses with good ventilation and CH are usually too dry for them to thrive, but there are plenty of houses with blocked airbricks or wet washing draped inside.

It might only cost a few hundred, and the best time is certainly when the house is empty. One day you might buy some second-hand furniture or an antique clock, or fuel for a wood-burner, and bring in an infestation.

we had signs of a previous infestation in our loft, cost about £300 for someone to spray/paint the beams up there. Well worth not having to worry about it ever again.

How do they treat it though? Do they spray/paint everything in the house that's made of wood?

They spray bare wood (not painted or waxed)

Usually floors, including joists, staircases, roof timbers.

Thanks, that's really helpful.

Another place they liked, in our damp 1930s house, was the wood strips that have sharp bits sticking out that hold down carpet at the edge of the room (sorry, don't know name ?gripperod) - they prefer softwood to hard, and that's really soft. Luckily, we pulled up most of the carpets when we moved in, so found them, but I'm sure there's some under the remaining carpets. We just treated them ourselves with a can of stuff from a DIY shop and they've never come back. Although we've also made the house less cold and damp, which helps.