How to Keep Your Thermally Modified Wood Protected

If you’re familiar with our wood products, you probably know they’re exceptionally well made, and extremely resistant to rot and decay. Thermory’s thermally modified wood is even termite resistant.

But you may still wonder if our wood guards against woodpeckers? And what about carpenter bees? These are among the more common questions we get about our materials, given they’re resistance to other factors.

The short answer is no. Woodpeckers aren’t attracted to wood products specifically, but to the bugs that live behind wood siding. In fact, they’ll peck through just about anything if they’re hungry enough—even vinyl siding. While hardwood may stand up a bit better than softwood, a hungry woodpecker will go to town on just about any substrate if sufficiently motivated. But there are simple remedies that can all but eliminate this issue. Woodpeckers hate shiny things! Bird-repellent discs and tape can scare woodpeckers away and drive them to easier targets. If you’d rather avoid shiny objects on your home, electronic woodpecker repellents use sound to drive the interlopers off your property.

Carpenter bees require different preventive measures. Because they build homes in wood, they create little holes in wood products to lay their eggs in. We don’t run into these often, but when we do, they can be persistent. Most carpenter bees prefer softwood to hardwood. However, there are some that will attack hardwoods, and they do prefer unfinished wood products.

One solution to reduce the likelihood of carpenter bees is to prime and paint or oil the wood products. Alternatively, you can use bee-friendly hotels to lure them away or craft homemade repellents with citrus oil. That said, sometimes it’s time to go to war—WD-40 in one hand, a tennis racket in another, and your favorite heavy metal tunes … it may not be pretty, but you’ll win the battle.

The wood we offer is unparalleled in terms of beauty, longevity, consistency, and sustainability. But it’s not magic, and we’re always candid about what it cannot do. We’re happy to provide guidance on how to fight off destructive pests, but no wood product can realistically claim dominance over these critters.

Image: Thermory Benchmark Thermo-Ash Decking and Cladding / Architect: Mari Hunt, b210 Architects / Photographer: Elvo Jakobson / Building: Maidla Nature Resort

See how thermally modified wood can enhance your space in our gallery.


About the Author

Jordan Russin is a flag-waving Thermory acolyte. As co-president of Russin, Thermory’s distributor throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Jordan was one of the first major distributors in North America to recognize the ascendance of thermally modified wood, and he helped to cement its acceptance through major projects in New York City, Boston and beyond.

 

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