​Wood pest control with the microwave - hire someone or do it yourself?

​You decided to do it yourself, good. 
One more thing in advance: We are not experts in wood and building protection. We develop and build the devices that help you remove/destroy pests.

An expert for wood and building protection would create a comprehensive renovation concept for you, which would clearly describe what infestation you have and how severe the infestation is. You can do this, but you don't have to. We have put together a lot of information on the Internet and on our website under “What you should know about wood pests” that we would be happy to make available to you.

First, you should determine which pest it is and why your building was interesting to it. Some pests are so-called secondary pests; these are actually attracted by previous processes (such as fungal infestation).

In many cases, however, chance was at play here and the pest simply “liked to eat” your object. But now the question is, how do I get rid of him? We can provide support here. As a private user, you do not have to comply with DIN standards or give a guarantee, but you should, however, pay attention to them. Using our microwave is safe if you use common sense and read the instructions for use. We are well aware that many people now think that it can't be that difficult. But anyone who has ever heated something in the microwave knows that the internal temperature of the food can be much higher than the surface temperature. It is therefore better to measure too much than too little during treatment. How to do this correctly is written in the instructions for use. 

Now back to the topic: how do I get rid of my “subtenants”? After you determine what pest you are dealing with, temperatures come into play. In order to successfully combat a pest, you need to know at what temperature it dies (called the lethal temperature). In most cases, these temperatures should be maintained for a period of one hour. In our experience, it is usually sufficient to achieve a core temperature of around 75°C. Depending on the outside temperature, the wood then slowly cools down to around 50° C in an hour. If the temperature drops more quickly, you can simply “reheat” briefly and the rule is satisfied. What is also a good tool is to create a measurement report. Here you should measure and enter the temperatures at the points described. Of course at different times. You can then very quickly see how my wood behaves, how quickly temperatures are reached, how quickly it cools down, etc. If you are still unsure, take a piece of scrap wood or something similar and test it in the microwave. You'll quickly realize that it's quicker than you thought. This will give you a feel for the upcoming mission. If you have any further questions, we are happy to help you. 

We wish you much success with your treatment.