In almost all cases, infestation results from wood that contained eggs or larvae at the time it was placed in the home. Typically, the infested article was constructed from wood which was improperly dried or stored. Maple, beech, poplar and pine are especially susceptible to attack. Under favorable conditions of moisture and temperature, infestations may spread upwards into walls and upper levels of the structure, including furniture. Infestations may occur as a result of using infested lumber, or from beetles flying in from outdoors or being carried in on firewood.
Infestations develop slowly, but wood can be reinfested year after year.
The key to avoiding serious problems from powderpost beetles is early detection . As noted earlier, homeowners are much more likely to see damage than the beetles themselves. Since tunneling and development of the larvae takes place entirely below the wood surface, the only signs of infestation are the emergence holes made by the adults and the powder-like frass sifting from the holes. Knowing how to differentiate lyctid from anobiid damage is more than academic since anobiids have a broader range of woods that they can potentially infest. Both lyctid and anobiid ppb chew small, circular emergence holes in the surface of wood .