Wow. I stand corrected. I've never seen them leave such large cavities or go that deep before.  But, I've never had any mesquite from Texas. Different bugs? Climate? Different species of mesquite? I'm dumbfounded. 

 

Everythings bigger in Texas Gene, or so I have been told!

I have lost some pine and red oak to those critters.  Some of my red oak has been through the kiln twice and still has live bugs!  

Cal, I know for sure, not EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas.  But these mesquite borers might be!!!

No that is not a silver dollar but the thing beside the quarter is what makes the large holes. They are just white larva when inside the wood...

     Not sure though how they go about stripping down before they start their journey.

Using the band saw yesterday I was slicing with the grain every half inch or so and was pulling out quite a few of the critters.. Then after I zapped for almost 7 minutes on the whole logs I went about sawing up another log to see if any critters had survived and the ones I found were dead.  A band saw blade don't stay sharp very long for the bark stores up lots of things to dull a blade...Guess I have to chalk the dull blade up to my science class!

  Its best to stay close to the microwave for one can start the center of the log burning if too much time is put on   the clock...

 

Why do you have to double click to put a picture down ready to insert it in the post then only one click to post the picture... This ole mind don't work all the time so must be the reasons for my screwed up picture sessions..

 

Google Texas borers!

 

I just read where the borer stores their eggs in the bark.

  Some years ago the tops of our pine trees were dying about 20 in all... I ordered some Tim-bor and some Bora-Care from somewhere in Ohio, spread it close to the trunk all around and in 2 to 3 years they were healthy again. None died....the directions said don't get impatient for the poison has to be picked up by the roots and spread through the system,,,,, and it worked....

 And I am thinking if I do the same to the mesquites it might keep the borers from going past the bark and only stay in the bark or else they will die for the wood will be poison??

That monster larvae is HUGE! A D9 dozer compared to the Cub Cadets I'm used to seeing. 

 

Yes even if it was a baby's hand.. A picture off Google of the Texas and M research they did about bugs. Seems like there are as many different borers as any other kind of insects.

  So does the article say if wood is Kiln dried will that do away with the eggs the borers laid in the bark... and what happens to the bugs that already went in , is the heat from the Kiln efficient enough to kill all the bugs no matter how deep they are???? 

  I have stacked all the wood I microwaved under the drum sander like in the first pictures with clean painted surfaces so I can keep an eye on the progress... But wait,,,,,, what if new bugs fly in and lay their eggs like they didn't know any better????  My argument is leave the Mesquite completely alone unless you buy it in planks so one can check for any holes before he buys......Like they did in this one picture I showed with no bark an plenty of holes all the way to the middle of the log.....

Agreed. Buying it already slabbed is the safest way to get unholy mesquite. Buying or harvesting whole logs can be a crapshoot. Especially with the bark still on.

Since the voids offer design opportunities, I'm not too picky. But, the size of the holes in your logs would be a bit much for me.

I wonder if there may be a select time of year to take the trees down and harvest the wood when the bugs are not on the prow.

I'd guess winter might slow down the egg laying. But, where mesquite grows the best in S. AZ, winter is just a word. 

Throw the wood in the freezer.

just saying,

Herb

Makes for some interesting reading as We do not have anything like that here. Usually if left outside oak will get beetles which will consume the whole log and they are from 2 to 2.5 inches long. But that does take a year or two.

Sounds like ye-all need to get a kiln. It's not the drying that kills

the bugs but it's the heat. Lots of plans out there for small kilns.

You need  56°C (132.8 F) core temperature for 30 minutes.

My Kiln is solar and i have seen 179 F on a good day.

Normal temp is 120-130 F.  Located in northeast Pa.

Edited October 16, 20196 yr by Kevin Beitz