Home remedies for woodworms

Before resorting to harsh chemicals, it is worth considering tried-and-tested home remedies. These methods are more environmentally friendly and often inexpensive, but are usually only effective in cases of minor infestation.

Here is an overview of some home remedies:

Onions: Rub infested wood with a cut onion. The strong smell repels woodworms, causing the pests to “flee” from the treated wood.

Advantage: non-toxic and simple.

Disadvantage: Only helps with minor infestations and usually only repels the worms without killing them.

Vinegar essence and alcohol: High-proof alcohol (e.g., methylated spirits or isopropanol) and vinegar essence produce vapors that woodworms dislike. You can spray the liquid into the feeding holes and then wrap the furniture in plastic foil to allow the vapors to take effect in the wood.

Advantage: If thoroughly soaked, larvae are killed or driven away.

Disadvantage: Caution: Alcohol vapors are highly flammable – only use outdoors. Acetic acid does not kill the larvae directly, but rather drives them into other wood.

Ammonia: The pungent ammonia vapors reliably kill woodworms if you place a bowl soaked in ammonia in the infested furniture and wrap it airtight. After a few days, the larvae will have died from the vapors.

Disadvantage: Ammonia is corrosive and harmful to health – protective clothing and thorough ventilation are a must. In addition, hardwoods can become discolored by ammonia fumes.

Borax: A natural mineral salt that is used both preventively and to combat woodworms. A borax solution is applied to the wood.

Advantage: Boric acid is also effective against the beetles and prevents egg laying.

Disadvantage: The salt does not penetrate deep into the wood. Larvae inside continue to eat and only die when they reach the treated wood surface as beetles.

Acorns as a trap: Place some fresh acorns around the exit holes. Woodworms are magically attracted to the smell of acorns and prefer to bore into them. This allows you to lure the larvae out of the furniture and then dispose of them with the infested acorns.

Disadvantage: Only works as long as there are still larvae in the wood and is more of a method for removing remaining individual worms.

Conclusion on home remedies: Home remedies are gentle on people and the environment and can often curb a minor infestation. However, they usually only combat woodworm superficially or drive it away. In the case of a more serious infestation or if home remedies are not sufficient, more targeted methods should be used.