WOOD - DESTROYING - ORGANISMS
The number one insect here in Florida is Subterranean Termites.They cause more damage each year then all the natural disasters that can befall us, and thats why they are not covered under your home owners insurance!
Other insects that can inflict wood damage are:
1) Drywood Termites
2) Powder Post Termites
3) Death Watch Beetles
4) Old house Borers
5) Flathead Borers
6) Powder Post Beetles
7) Bark Beetles
8) Flat Oak Borer
9) Timber Worms 10) Carpenter Bees
11) Carpenter Ants
Other Wood Destroying Organisms are wood rot, There are different types of wood rot:
1) Brown Rot
2) White Rot
3) Soft Rot
Wood rots for one simple reason: It gets wet. It can happen to wood anywhere in your house—in structural timber, door trim, eaves, exterior trim, you name it. Wood rot is also common on boats and plants and can even be found in musical instruments.
All wood has the potential for rotting, as it contains a certain amount of moisture. If moisture content is below 20 percent, rot typically isn't a concern. Anything over this provides a potential breeding ground for fungi, which is what causes wood rot.
Moisture is just one thing that fungi needs to survive. They also need the following:
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Favorable temperatures. Anything in the 40°F to 100°F range will do.
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Oxygen.
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A food source. The fungi that attack wood prefer carbohydrates in the form of cellulose and lignin.
Wood is made up of cellulose and lignin, The other factors are pretty hard to control. So fungi abatement efforts generally focus on the one variable—moisture—that we can do something about.
