Woodworm

Woodworm is a common name used to describe a number of wood boring insects.
The insect larvae cause the damage by boring through the wood which weakens the structure.

Each year between May and October the Common Furniture Beetle, or Woodworm, exit from the timber. This is called the ‘flight season’ and is when the beetles bite their way through the surface of the timber making the recognisable small round holes. Once emerged the beetles mate and then the female lays her eggs, up to 80, in cracks and crevices on the wood. The egg hatches into a small larvae which then burrows through the wood for a period of upto 5 years, increasing in size as it eats the wood. The beetle will then move near to the surface of the wood and pupate into the adult beetle, and the whole cycle starts again