Worm in Timber

Abstract

The damage referred to as worm in timber is the result of insect activity but, in salt water, teredo or ship worm and a wood-louse-like animal belonging to the crustacean family are responsible for damage of this type. Insects tunnel in timber, spoiling the appearance of exposed faces and, if the tunnels are numerous, they may so reduce strength properties as to make the wood valueless. Some insects only attack living trees or newly felled logs, some only seasoned wood, and others only the sapwood of certain species. In consequence, the presence of insect damage is not in itself necessarily a cause for alarm: the damage may be of the first type and therefore of no consequence in seasoned timber, beyond the disfigurement caused. Moreover, some insects and crustaceans commonly associated with timber are of no importance because they do not attack it.