THE WHITE PINE BORER

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 33

THE WHI TE PINE BORER

A well-known Dunedin builder afforded some interesting information on Monday t<i one of our reporters anent the activity ol the while pine borer pest. Its operations aro not confined to white pine, though it is in this timber that it seems to work th« most havoc. Visiting a house in North Dunedin, our representative was shown lh« results of the borer's effoits. The lin white pine boards on the upstairs floor ai-e- eaten to such an extent tnat it was positively unsafe to walk on them, while the lining was so riddled with the grub's tunnels that a gentle tap with a walking-stick was sufficient to pierce a hole through what remains of the wood. The lining is of white and' red pine boards alternately, and. while the white pine boards liave been attacked, the red pine is'untouehed. A p_iecn of kauri, however, was found to be infested. The lining, it was noticeable, was inside a brick wall, and quite free from damp. Our informant, who has been in tho building trade since 1866, first had his attention drawn to the borer in 1877, when he was called to Hampden to examine jsame houses. He has since been experimental!' in different houses* to stop the ravages ol the pest, and in several oases he- has been very successful. He has tried kerosene, benzine, turpentine, and lime water separately, and has found ' that benzine and ' lime" water givo the best results. Th« boards should be saturated with the liquid, as soon after the -borer makes his appearr.nce~ as possible. Sea water has also been tried with advantage. "My own plan," says our informant, "is to apply the liquid with a brush or a cloth, olosinjr up the windows and cioor9 to prevent the liquid evaporating too quickly. J ' believe that the reason for the existence of the grub is to be found in the fact that much of our white pine is grown on swampy land, and is not allowed to proporly mature before cutting. In houses in which the grub hae appeared, I have 'ised well-matured white pine in doore, sashes, and lining, and it has .remained free from attack for 20 years. I bfelieve that if oroper care were taken of the timber and only well-matured timber used th& trouble would not be found anywhere." Questioned as to the preference of the grub for white pine, our informant 6aid that in a house- he examined some years ago he found it had riddled not only th« white pine, but red pine, blucgum, and deal. TO THE BDITOB. Sir, — I should like io add my 1-ttle observations and experiences in connection with the white pine borer. About n : ne years ago I found the borer had begun its work in our house, in the white pine l.ning boards. By way of experment I took » sewing machine oil can, filled it with turpentine, and squirted some into the holes, and I found that at once the hard-winged beetles came rushing put, and I promptly killed them. They are brownish-grey in colour, and about the size of a sand fly. Every year I have kept up the performance at tlie season when the grub seems to develop into the beetle stage. I was not sure if I was doing much good until last summer, when I found that none came out in my kitchen, though I found a very large crop in the unvarnished white pine boards of the washhouse. Some friends and I commenced a raid upon them, and discovered by- close attention that the small beetle did not lay its eggs for next season in the wood, as I had previously supposed, but in the mornings, mostly between 8 and 10 o'clock, it came out of freshly-made holes, mated on the wing, and returned to the wood in the late afternoon; but it did not enteV by the old holes : it made its way through the scams, got behind the boards, and apparently deposited its eggs there. I crushed some of the beetles and took the trouble to count the small white eggs, and found as many as 3p and more in the insect. The beetle leaves the wood in December, January, and February, the &ea6on being shorter or longer according to the amount of heat : this summer it was very prolonged. I found that by applying turpentine with a small brush I could brine them out more quickly, but it was a tedious process, and had to be done every morning. lam sure we killed many thousands, but I know they are not gone by any means, for at the present time I can see tho borer is busy at work, as evidenced by the little heaps of powdered wood which are falling everywhere. I fancy that painting the wood at the proper season helps to keep them in check.— l am. etc.. Subscriber. ' Outram, May 12.