Get rid of the wood-boring insects
From time to time you hear that kerosene or diesel oil can be used to exterminate beetles in woodwork. Neither of these remedies has any proven effect, and they will only work if you get so much of the liquid into the wood that the larvae actually drown in it. Both products are flammable and contain easily vaporizable and harmful substances that it is not appropriate to bring into the house. If you used diesel oil in e.g. If you were to use diesel oil in a roof structure to combat beetles, it would probably also cause a very unpleasant smell of diesel that most people wouldn't want to live in.
Use approved products against wood-boring insects
The right way to get rid of wood pests is to always use a product that is approved by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. That way, you'll never go wrong and you can be sure that the product is both effective and meets the environmental requirements of the law. Sometimes it can be difficult to find out what pests you have in your woodwork. Knowing this is essential for the right treatment. That's when you need to turn to one of the excellent consulting companies that deal with biological damage in buildings.
At Protox, we have two different approved products that can be used against wood-damaging insects.
As a professional, you can buy both Protox Insect and Protox Kombi Aquawhile private individuals can only buy Protox Kombi Aqua.
The difference between the two products is that Protox Insect can be applied with a sprayer while Protox Kombi Aqua can only be applied with a brush and roller (- therefore private individuals can use Protox Kombi Aqua). Both products are water-based and both have a MAL code of 00-1. Both products prevent the insects from attacking new areas of the woodwork, but Protox Insect has the best ability to stop the infestation where the insects are currently active. On the other hand, using Protox Kombi Aqua will give you a treatment that prevents insect infestation AND wood-degrading fungi AND mold at the same time.
After treating the wood
Even after a thorough and correct treatment of the woodwork with Protox products, "activity" in the form of "sprinkles" may still occur for a longer period of time, which is completely natural.
When you treat wood with an insecticide, it doesn't penetrate the wood completely, but only forms a "poison barrier" in the outermost millimeters of the wood. The beetle larvae don't notice this as long as they stay deep in the wood - below the "poison zone" where they can stay for several years, completely unaffected by the poison on the surface. But when it gets old enough to want to come out and mate, it gnaws its way under the surface and pupates, at which point it comes into contact with poison and dies.
You will therefore find that the infestation dies out quietly over a period of a few years. If you want a faster effect, you need to carry out a deep impregnation in the form of valve impregnation with Protox Insect. Valve impregnation is also the right approach for painted surfaces or very large and inaccessible timber dimensions.
Also be aware that even if the beetle infestation is completely knocked down, timber can drip when exposed to strong winds. It is the timber that "twists", causing old drill cuttings to sprinkle out.