by Professor Gene Wengert
Q.
My husband bought some ash to make a trunk. The man he bought it from gave him several pieces with what he said were worm marks. Are the worms still in the wood? If so, what will kill the worms in order to use the wood?
A.
The worms in ash are worms that like wet wood (except for one fairly rare variety which leaves holes about 1/32 inch in diameter). The worms are killed during normal drying processes. If they were still alive, they would soon die without water and wet wood. In short, no problem (except in one case).
Professor Gene Wengert is Extension Specialist in Wood Processing at the Department of Forestry, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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