Carpentry treatment ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA
Qualifications & Certifications
TREATMENT OF WOOD-EATING INSECTS
As PAMTHER is certified by the FCBA Institute of Technology, it carries out treatments in accordance with FCBA standards. The products used are also certified by the FCBA (CTB-P+ certification). What’s more, companies are now required to have biocides-trained applicators (certificate to be provided) to carry out treatments. Without this training, the company cannot call on its workers.
In the construction industry, framework, awning and interior or exterior beams are usually treated by self-cleaning, or soaking, to provide a ten-year guarantee against wood-boring insect attack. However, in the event of failure to meet these obligations, or after maintenance, it is necessary to have the wood professionally treated every 10 years, either preventively or curatively (if the wood is already attacked).
Different treatment methods are available, to suit different frame configurations and resident lifestyles.
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PRESSURE-INJECTION WOOD TREATMENT
In most cases, wood injection treatment work breaks down as follows:
THE PREPARATORY PHASES
Helps locate infested areas
Facilitates penetration of preservative into areas to be protected during deep treatment and surface application - covers all infested areas.
Evacuates wormholes to facilitate penetration of the preservative into the areas to be protected (sound wood) at the time of surface application.
cCleans the surface of wood parts.
Wood debris and other waste from previous operations are removed from the site before the product is introduced and applied.
IN-DEPTH TREATMENT
It destroys larvae in situ and/or prevents their development. Treatment consists in injecting a preservative into holes drilled in the wood: these are the injection wells. The diameter of the wells must be adapted to the dimensions of the wood elements.
Drilling the wood for the injectors is as follows:
The holes (injection wells) must be drilled in the wood in a staggered pattern on the facing or in a line on the edges. The distance between two wells should be a maximum of 33 cm. Shafts should be drilled 2/3 of the way through the thickness or height of the wood. Drilling should leave no more than 60mm at the bottom of the hole. In the case of timbers thicker than 200mm and with a half-perimeter greater than 400mm, the timbers must be drilled on both faces (double injection). The depth of the wells is half the thickness of the timber.
These injections are particularly important in the case of inserts, where they are doubled and directed as close as possible to the masonry, as well as in timbers in contact with walls. In the case of punched and cracked wood, the wells should be arranged in a line on either side of the cracks. In-depth treatment concerns all attacked wood with a width greater than or equal to 70mm after logging and a half-perimeter greater than or equal to 200mm. The injectors used are 9.5mm in diameter, or 7mm for small pieces of wood. They ensure good penetration of the product into the wood, both on the surface and at depth, and in particular from the first centimeter (where other devices only start to treat from 2.5 or 3.5 cm from the surface, running the risk of ineffectiveness on the surface, the preferred area for wood-eating larvae). They feature a patented, fast-acting non-return system that maintains optimum injection pressure inside the wood.
SURFACE APPLICATION
cIt protects wood parts from new insect egg-laying, and eliminates larvae in the vicinity of the wood surface. It is applied in at least two successive passes, at low pressure and without air, to all accessible wood surfaces.
WOOD TREATMENT WITH CURATIVE GEL SPRAYS
In most cases, wood treatment work using curative gel sprays breaks down as follows:
APPLICATION OF CURATIVE GEL
Treatment of wood with a curative gel of exceptional penetration and resistance, limiting injections to wood recesses and wood in contact with masonry. This gel is 4 times more concentrated than other insecticides. It is odorless, does not run and does not stain wood after drying. With a flash point above 70° C, the product’s low volatility virtually eliminates the risk of fire.
Curative Gel is remarkably effective, and does not raise fibers or swell wood. It is guaranteed against Capricorn beetles, Termites, Beetles and Lyctus beetles. CTB-P+ certified, it positively meets quality standards in terms of performance and safety for health and the environment. It was the 1st French curative wood treatment product to be approved by European biological efficacy standards*, attesting to its excellent power of penetration and diffusion in wood!
If additional injections are required, they must be justified on technical grounds and/or by the site environment. Injection treatment applies to
wood with a cross-section greater than or equal to 100 mm and a ½ perimeter greater than or equal to 400 mm, as well as round wood with a diameter greater than 300 mm, wood in contact with masonry, and wood in recesses.
The European efficacy standards for curative products, updated in 2008, attest to an optimized ratio between product efficacy and biocidal substance dosage. Compared with previous versions, efficacy is now assessed in a stricter, more targeted way, as it is more closely correlated with the diffusion and penetration of the curative product into the wood after application.
STRUCTURAL TREATMENT: WOOD-EATING INSECTS
cThe term “wood-boring insects” refers to insects whose larvae develop in wood: capricorn beetles, heserophanes, lyctus, and small and large beetles. Their presence can be detected mainly by the exit holes left by the larvae when they reach the adult stage.
The house longhorn beetle is widespread in France. Its specialty: laying around a hundred eggs in worked softwoods (pine, spruce...). The larvae's development cycle lasts an average of three years, during which time each one can burrow into roof timbers, panelling and joinery at a rate of 8 to 10 millimetres per day. At the end of its cycle, the larva transforms into a perfect insect, which emerges from mid-June to the end of August. The larva becomes active at 15°C and attacks all softwoods.
MAIN SIGNS OF ITS PRESENCE
Holes on the surface of wood, 8 to 10 mm long and oval in shape, Galleries extending around the periphery of the workpiece, sheltered by a thin film of wood curved by the settling of the dejecta worm, grooved walls, Very light beige dejecta, in the shape of small 0.8 mm long barrels, Small nibbling noises.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
THE LARVE
Up to 25 mm long.
Active for several years (average 3 years) Difficult to detect
THE PERFECT INSECT
10 to 20 mm long
Lives 3 to 4 weeks
Out from mid-June to end of August
Flies short distances
The Hesperophane is a cousin of the Capricorn beetle, but its larva feeds mainly on hardwoods (oak, beech, etc.).
MAIN SIGNS OF ITS PRESENCE
Oval galleries running parallel to the wood grain, the walls of which, like those of Capricorn beetles, are streaked with mandibular blows,
A worm-like appearance consisting of small, light-yellow barrels.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
THE LARVE
Between 25 mm and 30 mm long.
Cylindrical in shape
THE PERFECT INSECT
From 13 to 24 mm
Reddish-brown in color
Comes out between May and August
Lives two years or more (shorter cycle than Capricorn)
Death watch beetle larvae prefer lumber exposed to humidity or attacked by wood-rotting fungi.
MAIN SIGNS OF PRESENCE
Circular exit holes 2 to 4 mm in diameter, Circular galleries, Granular, lens-shaped wormholes nearly 1 mm in diameter.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
THE LARVE
6 to 11 mm long
Milky white in color
THE PERFECT INSECT
5 to 7 mm long
Dark brown
Emerges from April to May
Lives from 1 to 10 years, depending on the degree of deterioration of the wood
It is frequently found on antique furniture and objets d'art.
MAIN SIGNS OF ITS PRESENCE
Circular exit holes 1 to 3 mm in diameter, Small clusters of fine-grained wormholes on the surface of the wood.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
THE LARVE
5 to 7 mm long
White in color
THE PERFECT BITE
2.5 to 5 mm long
Dark brown in color
Out from May to September
Lives from 1 to 4 years, depending on climatic conditions
The lyctus is a beetle of which there are two species in France: the lyctus brunneus, probably of American origin and increasingly widespread, and the lyctus linearis, a European species in decline. Wood must be a sufficient source of food for the lyctus, i.e. rich in starch. Chestnut, oak, ash, elm, black locust and all tropical hardwoods are therefore prime targets for the lyctus. This insect is more likely to infest wood in its first years of use, as the starch gradually disappears.
MAIN SIGNS OF ITS PRESENCE
Circular holes 1 to 2 mm in diameter, Small cones of very fine, floury-looking wormholes running from the wood, with no visible signs of weathering on the surface of the material.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
LARVE
Up to 5 mm long
THE PERFECT INSECT
From 2.5 to 6 mm long
Reddish-brown in color
Comes out between April and September
Lives 8 to 12 months