Hello
I am considering buying a 1930 Weber baby grand piano. It plays well but there has been some woodworm damage at the bottom of the case.
The piano is cheap because of this, you cannot see the wood worm from the top so it doesn't bother me, should it?
Regards
Georgina
OLD WOODWORM IN PIANO CASE
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Georgina10
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OLD WOODWORM IN PIANO CASE
Please could somebody give me advice on piano verses the keyboard, for my 10 year old daughter to practise the piano. She has just passed her prep test. I understand you can buy keyboards that are touch sensitive and have weighted keys are these any good?
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Barrie Heaton
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Hello! Woodworm treatment is my business, but mainly in roofs, seldom pianos. If it is old woodworm, there is nothing to worry about provided no important parts have been weakened (yes, get a technician's advice). If there is evidence of frass (dust) which has recently emerged from the holes, then there is an active infestation which will require treatment. Unfortunately, most wood-boring beetle activity is in the summer months so you may not see the signs at present. If there is an active infestation in bare wood, that is simple to treat with any Permethrin insecticide, but if it is in varnished or painted wood, treatment is not so effective and you must painstakingly inject each hole with a spirit-based Permethrin insecticide with the hope of killing any larvae or eggs in the immediate area of the holes. This process may need to be repeated until there are no further signs of emergence.
By the way, don't worry about woodworm infesting your house. "Woodworms" are the larvae of (usually) the Common Furniture Beetle (anobium punctatum) which is a very small beetle and many of these probably fly into almost every house in the country every year, whether or not you already have woodworm infested furniture and most cause no damage whatsoever. They only lay their eggs in cracks or old holes in wood that is to their liking which is most commonly the roofing timbers, sometimes the flooring timbers although most of these are usually protected by carpets nowadays and perhaps other timbers which may have been softened by dampness. The vast majority of wood is not to their liking. If any timbers in your house are suitable for supporting woodworm, then they will probably be attacked one day, but treatment nowadays is quite simple and safe.
By the way, don't worry about woodworm infesting your house. "Woodworms" are the larvae of (usually) the Common Furniture Beetle (anobium punctatum) which is a very small beetle and many of these probably fly into almost every house in the country every year, whether or not you already have woodworm infested furniture and most cause no damage whatsoever. They only lay their eggs in cracks or old holes in wood that is to their liking which is most commonly the roofing timbers, sometimes the flooring timbers although most of these are usually protected by carpets nowadays and perhaps other timbers which may have been softened by dampness. The vast majority of wood is not to their liking. If any timbers in your house are suitable for supporting woodworm, then they will probably be attacked one day, but treatment nowadays is quite simple and safe.