Woodworms

loulou41

My friend found evidence of woodworms in her electric meter cabinet. The wood supporting the electric meter is covered with tiny holes. She also found some evidence of woodworms activities on the floorboard near the vicinity but do not know if they are still active. She is waiting for a specialist to come and survey. She is very concerned about her tiles kitchen floor in case they need to pull out to check. Surely the floorboard underneath the tiles cannot be infested and if it is she will have a lot of hassle with a toddler. I thought I would ask in the forum somebody might know whether this is possible. Thanks

London50

Until a check is done there is no way to know just how far it may have spread. It could be not only in the floorboards but in the joists as well and only a check will show just where.
I am not saying it will be needed but it is possible that {depending on the position of the woodworm activity is/was} then there is the chance that the kitchen floor {tiled or not} would need to be checked to see how far the damage has spread.

SG27

I wouldn't get too concerned about it. Make sure you get an independent specialist to survey. DON'T get someone in who has a vested intrest in treating the entire house unnecessarly.

How old is the house? All old houses will have woodworm holes that are long empty. Woodworm colony's will struggle to survive unless there is a source of damp to make the wood more edible. So its very unlikely that the kitchen floor need to be lifted.

cherry76

The house is a period house over 100 yrs.

loulou41

It is an old period house over 100 yrs old.

SG27

It's highly likely that unless there is a source of damp in the area that the woodworm is old as the house and long since died out. If the woodworm is active then there would be frass (wood dust) around the holes also during spring there would be beetles. Google woodworm beetles to see what the various types look like. The beetles appear during the flight season from about March to July time. Do the holes look fresh? Have you only just noticed them?