Barn Wood Protecting From Termites & Such

[whitedawg]

One of the things I want to use on the walls is old weathered barn wood. The last thing I want to do is drag in termites and other critters. Any recomendation on treating the wood before installing.
Thanx

 

[Angelfire]

I'd treat it with a borax/glycol mixture. Timbor is one such product but there are generics available as well that are cheaper. If you're so inclined, you could actually dip the wood to really treat it. Another option that I'm not very knowledgeable about would be to heat the wood in a kiln to kill off everything

 

[yhprum]

I think you can kill termites by letting the wood freeze outside if it isnt touching the ground. If you live up north someplace.

 

[MoonRise]

Treat it (chemically) or heat it. Those are your two choices.

Call around in your area for treatment or kiln-drying places.

 

[PAToyota]

When they do it commercially, they kiln treat it. I saw a study on freezing it and it has to get down to ridiculously low temperatures to do any good. And to really penetrate into the wood and get rid of eggs, fumigation or chemicals end up being a greater problem off-gassing once it is installed in your home/shop.

You may be able to find a local sawmill with a kiln that would include your wood in with what they are drying.

By the way, just had a friend who had problems with this. They paneled their basement in "barn wood" from a friend's family outbuilding they were tearing down. Six months later they were ripping it all out due to mold and bugs because they didn't do anything to it first.

 

[5lima30]

I would avoid chemicals if it is being used on interior spaces. Instead I would have the lumber run through a kiln which will kill any insects along with ensuring that it is completely dry. Any good saw mill should have a kiln. Around here the mills get about
.20-.25 a board ft to run it through the kiln for 7-9 days.