Bamboo Tiger Longhorn Beetle (Chlorophorus annularis) - A Super Pest?

Does anyone have experience with this bamboo pest? We have found the bug at all stages (pupae, larvae, adult) in our poles which were treated prior to installation in our house (3 week wash, dry then permethrin soak treatment method). Some of the infested poles are three years old already.  What is the life-cycle of this bug? Can it have already spread to other poles in the house, or were they already in the poles, survived treatment and are now emerging?

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⭐ Best Answer:

Chlorophorus annularis is a serious bamboo pest, it attacks both standing culms and stored bamboo poles. The adults lay eggs in cracks or cut ends, larvae tunnel and feed on the inner fibers, then pupate inside the pole. The full life cycle can run a few months to a year depending on climate, so yes, you can see all stages in the same pole.

If you’re seeing emergence years later, then the preservation treatment was probably not effective enough. It likely knocked the infestation back at first but wore out over time. Once adults emerge, they can re-infest untreated or lightly treated bamboo nearby.

Permethrin can be used to treat bamboo, but it's generally not the most effective method for long-term preservation against insects and fungi. While permethrin is effective against some pests, other treatments like borax-boric acid solutions are often preferred for bamboo due to better penetration and long-term protection.

For existing infestations indoors, you’d need to treat or replace infested poles. If the spread is ongoing, consider targeted treatment by injecting Timbor in all of the bamboo internodes.

Nisus Tim-BOR Professional Insecticidal Dust, Water-Soluble Borate Powder, Wood Preservative and Fungicide for Termites, Carpenter Ants, Wood Decay, 1.5 lbs

Bamboo Helmet Stands

I make Helmet stands for Collectors of Militaria. The US M1 helmet is very popular when used with the Camoflage helmet Cover used in the Vietnam War. I recently had access to freshly cut bamboo and used it on the display. It was well received and I was asked if it was avaialble.

My question is can the bamboo be preserved enough to maintain it's strength and not rot? It would be wonderful if it could retain that beautiful green color but I know that's impossible. Even if it dried to brown it would work in the display. The section I'm using are about 1 1/2" diameter in 12" sections. I can tell the stalk is already getting soft. So I can't save this batch but maybe the next? Thanks.

Bamboo Helmet Stand

Bamboo Treatment Tank Maintenance

I'm trying to maintain the concentration of a Borax/Boric acid in our bamboo treatment tank. We add additional salts as we top up with water due to the level drop, which must be part due to absorption and part due to incomplete drainage of the poles back into the tank, but after some years and many batches I'm concerned that the solution may not be at optimum strength.

I have not found using a hydrometer or measuring ppm to be effective, I guess due to sugars etc leaching from the bamboo. Do you have any advice? A rule of thumb calculation? A suitable measurement device? Or should we just continue to go by drop in fluid level?

Additionally our tank is black and smelly although we circulate the solution through a bag filter and occasionally add iodine. Do you have methods of keeping the solution cleaner?

We are in the Philippines, using primarily "Butong" Dendrocalamus asper for construction. We have a 1M X 1M X 11M tank in which we soak 20 to 25 10mtr poles, 2 weeks per batch. The tank is covered. We have a starting solution of Borax: Boric acid 75KG:50Kg in 7.8cu.m water.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

My Bamboo Furniture is being Attacked by Beetles

I have a serious problem with my bamboo furniture being attacked by beetles. I would be very appreciative if anyone can give me a solution…

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⭐ Best Answer:

Drill small holes in the bamboo near the nodes and inject an insecticide (Timbor). You can drill the holes under the arm rests or other hidden places so that it won't affect the aesthetic qualities of the furniture.

How to Straighten Bamboo While Drying?

I intend to use bamboo as a 7 ft pole to hold a banner at the top. I will be holding it while riding a horse. How do I ensure that I get it dried straight and sturdy enough to hold approximately 10 pounds at the top of the pole?

How Long do I Need to Dry Bamboo to Prevent Rooting?

I live in North Carolina, USA. My neighbor is cutting down a large stand of bamboo. I would like to use some pieces to make garden trellises, but I don’t want the pieces to root. The pieces are 3 inches in diameter and about 15 feet long. How long do I need to dry them outside?

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⭐ Best Answer:

Once the bamboo has lost its original green or glossy yellow color and turned into a pale beige, they won't root anymore. If you lay the bamboo outside in the sun for about a month they should be dry enough.

Drying Bamboo Below 15% Moisture Content

I am working on a project which would require the bamboo to dry to below a 15% moisture content. How long would this take in your estimation? Any ideas on low cost/low energy ways to speed up drying?

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⭐ Best Answer:

Bamboo is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs and releases moisture until it reaches equilibrium with the surrounding environment's moisture content (MC). When exposed to changes in humidity, bamboo naturally shrinks and swells. Depending on your location, especially in tropical climates, the MC of bamboo rarely drops below 15%, with dried bamboo typically stabilizing between 16-18%. It is important to clarify whether you intend to dry whole bamboo poles or slats. Slats can be oven-dried, but poles should be air-dried to minimize the risk of cracking.

Flame Curing of Bamboo Poles

I'm flame curing my bamboo poles. Do I have to remove the nodes inside?

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⭐ Best Answer:

No you do not need to perforate or remove the nodes but you should drill small holes just above the nodes (from the outside of the poles) so the hot steam can escape. Otherwise the bamboo poles may explode when applying heat.

Mold Issues When Drying Split Bamboo

This is James Khan from Northern Bangladesh, Asia. We are working with Bamboo for few years and we do natural sun drying in dry/cold season (Oct to April) for our split bamboo. But we are facing issues of mold/fungal attack during drying and even production during monsoon. So we suspect that our natural drying under direct sun did not season the materials well and moisture locked inside.

May I get your kind suggestion to drying split bamboo? Direct sun drying/ indirect sun drying/process/ techniques etc. Thanks.

Shrinkage of Oven Dried Bamboo

What % of shrinkage does bamboo have while drying over fire or in an oven?

Bamboo Drying Method in Colombia

What is the drying method being adopted in Colombia with tubes running into bamboo? Thanks in advance!

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⭐ Best Answer:

That's a technique called "el Pulpo" (invented by Jörg Stamm). All nodes are perforated inside the bamboo in order to preserve them in large tanks with boron salts. Afterwards hot air is forced through the poles which rapidly reduces the moisture content.

How to Dry Dendrocalamus asper for Making a Beehive?

I have some bamboo hives of the sting-less bee Tetragonisca angustula. I now started researching D. Asper to build homes for this species and others of the sting-less bees.

Some of my work can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvkI-WfS5332s4we892mtgg

My question is which is the best method to dry the bamboo? Some people use torches to apply heat, etc.

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⭐ Best Answer:

Just put the bamboo to dry in the sun (rotate every day to avoid cracking). Flame torching is most suited for small diameter green bamboo, not so much for large diameter bamboo. Sun drying will take about 2 weeks for small sections, but do make sure to use mature Dendrocalamus asper otherwise it will crack easily.

Do Tonkin Canes Need any Treatment if Used for Ski Poles?

I'm making alpine ski poles of tonkin bamboo. Do tonkin canes really need any treatment if they will be used for ski poles? Once they are "converted" into ski poles they will either be stored indoors (usually in a dry place together with the skis) or outdoors in cold and dry conditions on high altitude. Low humidity and not many insects, so do the bamboo then really need any treatment? Looking forward to a reply! Thank you very much!

Treatment for Rain Gutters Made from Bamboo

What kind of treatment would you recommend for rain gutters made from bamboo? Let’s assume you want to collect that rain water for your crops, so no toxic chemicals. For this application, is doing nothing equivalent to using boric acid borax?

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⭐ Best Answer:

The better solution is to simply build the attaching system to allow easy replacement of the gutter. Thye should last a year or two here in FL.

Bamboo Surface Treatment

I want to build a bamboo structure in Maharashtra, India with a very moderate rain fall. Would somebody please suggest me relatively inexpensive bamboo surface treatment which will make my structure safe for at least 20 years.

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⭐ Best Answer:

You can treat bamboo with UV blocking polyurethane and it can last for many years. But you will need to re-coat it every year in moderate climates, and re-coat every 6 months in heavily rainy climates. But it does work. I find a gallon of UV blocking polyurethane runs about 40 to 50 bucks in the U.S. And it will coat and area approx. 50 feet long and 6 feet high thoroughly.

Bamboo Turning Black with Outdoor Use

Hi, we are doing a project using bamboo as facade under intense sun and rain in summer (subtropical climate). We did the boric borax solution treatment beforehand already, however under the rain season, some selective bamboos are blackened intensely, why is that and what other solutions/ treatments can prevent such situation from happening?

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⭐ Best Answer:

The blackening you see is almost certainly fungal staining due to high humidity + rain exposure, since boric–borax doesn’t protect against that.

What to do:
Start by cleaning off the surface mold (use mild vinegar solution or lemon oil), then let the bamboo dry thoroughly. Next, apply a UV-resistant sealer, which protects against moisture and UV damage. To prevent recurrence, it’s recommended to re-apply every 1-2 years to maintain protection.

Can Dry Bamboo be Put Into Water for it to be Able to Bend?

Can dry bamboo be put into water for it to be able to bend? I am also building a grapevine trellis, am I able to cement the bamboo poles into the cement, would it last?

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⭐ Best Answer:

No, unlike rattan or willow, bamboo has a hard, lignified outer layer. Once it has dried, its cell walls are set. Water absorption will not restore the pliability of fresh bamboo.

Dry bamboo can be bend by applying force (to a certain extent) but once the force is removed the bamboo will bend back to it's original shape. Therefore it is always best to bend bamboo when it is still green (recently cut).

For agricultural use and support sticks I wouldn't bother using cement as foundations. Exposed to sun and rain the bamboo will weather anyways. A trellis like this could have a lifespan of 2 years (depending on the species, when it was harvested, etc).

How do You Find the Maximum Height of a Bamboo Arch?

How do you find the maximum height of a bamboo arch if you know its length?

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⭐ Best Answer:

If you want to find the maximum height of the arch, cut a string the same length as the bamboo, and hang it from two points. That is your arch, upside down. You can impregnate the string with wet plaster, wait for it to harden, and then lay it sideways, and use it as a guide to stake, bend, cut, and shape your bamboo. Just pay attention to the bamboo, and don't let it snap.

Also, make sure your cuts are angled to the focal point, which is an imaginary point between the two points your strung your string two, and should be at the base of your arch. The focal point will be in the middle of those two points, along the line of the shortest distance between them.

Making a Bamboo Fish Mouth Joint

This video shows how to make a clean fish mouth joint using only a drill and a hole saw. It’s a simple step-by-step process that takes less than a minute to complete. Perfect if you want a fast and accurate fit. (The video is in Spanish, but the steps should be pretty self-explanatory.)

Filling Bamboo Joints with Cement

I saw some info about creating strong bamboo joints when using Guadua in building construction, especially adding cement to the joints. I recall threaded rod and hardware being used, and possibly rebar as well. I would love to see more detailed info and/or videos about that. Perhaps there are some good videos on the site already that I have missed.

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⭐ Best Answer:

Filling bamboo poles to reinforce the joints has shown very limited results. The problem arises from the fact that the cement mixture has water in it. So when injected in the bamboo cavity the bamboo sucks up part of the water from the mixture and the bamboo fiber swells up. When the cement or concrete sets it hardens and the bamboo dries. So it shrinks again. Pulling itself loose from the cement core and leaving a capillary opening between the bamboo and the cement. In addition to that, cement is very good at taking pressure-loads, but terrible at tensile strength (pulling). And it is heavy. So making a lightweight construction with bamboo does not seem to make much sense if you want to use heavy cement or concrete joints. Usually the motive for using cement is that it is cheap, and the builder (not being specialized in bamboo building but in general building) knows cement, but lacks the knowledge of using it in combination with bamboo.

There are better alternatives. One of them is using bamboo fiber with a matrix. A matrix is just a glue of some sort that fixes the fiber in place, mostly polymers made by chemical industry. Unfortunately good matrix-es usually do not come cheap and mostly are not very eco-friendly. But technically they are good and reliable. Basically what you do is building an exoskeleton of bamboo fiber held in place with the glue around the connection. Pretty much like you would make a cast around a leg when someone has a broken bone. The best results we had with a pre-woven strip of about 5 cm wide wrapped around the column in a cross overlapping pattern in MANY layers and then saturating it with the polymer. The best result are achieved when assuring both chemical AND mechanical bonding between the matrix and the bamboo. Mechanically is easy: roughen up the contact surface. Chemically is harder. But usually when you use a matrix that is properly absorbed by the bamboo fiber it should be ok. Keep in mind that the outside layer of the bamboo is not just hard by itself, but is hard because it contains a high level of silica. Making it more weather resistant, but also more anti-adhesive. Scraping it of before you apply the fiber and matrix might be a good idea.

Bamboo Architecture Unboxed

By Stamm, Jorg, Vahanvati, Munir