Woodworm St Andrews
Have you noticed any weakened floorboards or small round holes on timber surfaces? If so, this could mean that your property is affected by an active woodworm infestation. Our preservation specialists can identify the scale of the infestation and provide an appropriate treatment specifcation. Contact our Aberden branch for advice or a property survey.
- 30 Year Guarantee
- Delivering Property Care Since 1935
- Experienced & Qualified, St Andrews Surveyors & Technicians
What Causes Woodworm?
Main causes of woodworm:
- Migrating beetles being attracted towards timber in your home
- Infested furniture being brought into the property
- Infected timber being used during property construction
- Firewood brought into property containing woodworm
Woodworm can easily be accidentally introduced into a property through furniture, driftwood or firewood. Damp in your property that causes fungal attack to timber in properties can act as a magnet for some types of wood destroying insects. People should seek to inspect the timber within their property on a regular basis to identify any potential woodworm issues as quickly as possible. Woodworm can cause immense damage to the structure of a property so property owners need to ensure they take as many steps as they can to attempt to block woodworm from infesting the timbers of their property.
How To Identify Woodworm
To the untrained eye, identifying that your property is suffering from a woodworm problem can be a very difficult thing to do. Most of the damage which woodworm will cause is within the timber below the surface, well out of view from the timber’s exterior. As a result, people can struggle to identify that they have a woodworm problem before the infestation has spread substantially. These are some of the signs which property owners can look out for which indicate that your property may be suffering from woodworm.
Signs of Woodworm:
- Small holes in timber where adult woodworm beetles have exited
- Visible ‘frass’ or bore dust around exiting holes
- Weakened or damaged floorboards
- Tunnels in the timber
- Live or dead beetles surrounding the potentially affected area
Our Woodworm FAQ page goes into greater detail regarding the tell-tale signs of woodworm in your property. If you believe your property is suffering from some of these signs it is important you speak to one of our property preservation specialists at our St Andrews office. Our specialists can arrange a survey of your property or can even provide you with advice.
Woodworm Treatment & Prevention
Woodworm’s three-year life cycle can result in many property owners being unaware of them having a woodworm problem until the problem has developed significantly. An insecticide treatment being applied to the affected areas will resolve your woodworm problem. Woodworm treatment specialists must be the people who apply the insecticide as woodworm is unlikely to be eradicated through self-treatment. A borescope is utilised by our specialists to gain access to constricted areas. People who are administering self-treatment may not have access to such technology so will be unable to fully eradicate their woodworm problem and they will keep returning. In comparison, Richardson & Starling’s woodworm specialists offer a 30-year transferable guarantee for your peace of mind that the property problem has been solved.
What our specialist will do:
- Survey the affected area in detail to determine the scale of the infestation
- Utilise technology such as a borescope to gain access to otherwise restricted areas
- Identify whether the infestation is still active or not
- Specify the most suitable treatment solution
- If required, our specialists can remove the infested timbers and replace them with healthy pre-treated timber
It is essential to eradicate woodworm as soon as possible from your property. As soon as the damage from the woodworm becomes visible this means that your timber’s quality may be greatly affected weakening the structural integrity of the property. Upon completion of an extensive survey of the affected areas in the property, our specialists will then identify the most suitable woodworm treatment to eradicate your problem. Normally, the application of a chemical solution will be enough to rectify the problem. However, occasionally the infected timbers will need to be replaced by our specialists with new healthy ones. Please don’t be daunted by this prospect. Every woodworm infestation is entirely different, our specialists will select the most appropriate solution for you.
Property Survey in St Andrews
Our qualified rot surveyors in St Andrews will closely investigate the affected area and measure the scale of the problem. At Richardson and Starling, we only supply experienced surveyors who are highly trained in all types of property problems that could affect your property such as woodworm, rot or damp. This means that our surveyor will be able to complete the survey and give the appropriate remedial recommendations no matter what problem is identified.
30 Year Guarantee
Free automatic transfer to the new property owner if sold.
30 Year Guarantee for Woodworm Eradication Works
After eight decades of successful property surveys and repairs, we’re confident to offer you a 30 Year Guarantee that transfers with the Property.
Richardson & Starling are long-standing members of the Property Care Association (PCA) aand the QANW. This demonstrates our ability to meet technical and financial requirements to offer an insurance back-up to our own long term guarantees if you would like this.