Goodwood straddles Voortrekker Road, with older family homes on the quiet streets and shops, workshops and takeaways on the main drag.
Wood borer in Goodwood
Goodwood's post-war homes with timber floors and pine roofs are prime candidates for a borer find during beetle certificate inspections. Leaks in older roofs keep the timber damp, which the common furniture beetle looks for.
We inspect roofs, floors and outbuildings, treat active borer and then issue the certificate, so book the inspection as soon as your sale is agreed. Furniture beetle can also spread from old wooden furniture kept in outside rooms, so it's worth looking for small round holes and fine powder there too.
Something most people miss
Borer treatments are applied in the roof or to furniture, not in living areas, so children and pets just need to stay clear while we work and while it dries.
For sellers, borer is often discovered at the worst moment, a week before transfer. Booking the inspection as soon as the house goes on the market takes the pressure off.
What gives them away
Tick every sign you have noticed. It takes ten seconds.
Why it matters: Most borer damage is slow, but it is cumulative, and a roof truss weakened by years of tunnelling can fail under load. The European house borer is the serious one, because it goes for structural timber and is a notifiable pest. Furniture and antiques lose value quickly once borer has hollowed them out. When you sell a property in the Western Cape, an active infestation can hold up the transfer until it is treated and certified.
How the treatment works
We start with an inspection to confirm the beetle species and whether the holes are active or old, because old damage does not need treating. Exposed timber such as roof trusses, beams and floor joists is treated with a residual borer spray that penetrates the surface and kills emerging beetles and young larvae. Where the wood is thick or the infestation is deep, we inject product directly into the flight holes and drilled galleries. Badly weakened timber should be replaced by a builder, and we tell you which pieces are past saving. Valuable furniture can be sealed and fumigated instead.
Want the full step-by-step? See how our wood borer treatment service works.
Stopping a repeat visit
- Check second-hand furniture for holes and fresh powder before you bring it home.
- Use treated timber for any roofing, decking or building work, and check the treatment marks on it.
- Have the roof timbers looked at every few years in an older house.
- If you are buying or selling, book the beetle inspection early so it does not delay the transfer.
- Keep the roof space ventilated and fix leaks quickly, since damp timber attracts borer.
How much will it cost?
The price depends on how much timber needs treating, how easy the roof space is to get into and which beetle we are dealing with. A single piece of furniture is a very different job to a full roof of trusses. Injection work, replacement advice and certificates for transfers are all included in a free quote once we have seen the property.
You can brush a borer product onto a small piece of furniture yourself and it may do the job. Roof timbers are a different story: getting the product into every face of every truss in a hot, cramped roof is hard work, and missing the European house borer is a real problem. I would always get the roof looked at professionally.
Frequently asked questions
Will treatment smell or stain the wood?
Most borer treatments dry with little smell and do not stain bare timber. Polished furniture is treated more carefully.
Is borer common in older Goodwood homes?
It's often found in post-war homes with timber floors and pine roofs. An inspection shows whether it's active.
Is the European house borer really that serious?
Yes. It attacks structural softwood and is a notifiable pest in the Western Cape, so suspected cases have to be reported and treated.
Can borer spread from furniture to my roof?
It can, which is why infested furniture should be treated or kept away from untreated timber.
How long does the treatment last?
Residual borer treatments protect the timber for a long time. Our treatments carry a minimum 3-month guarantee, and we can re-inspect later.
How do I know if the borer holes are still active?
Look for fresh, pale powder below the holes and clean, sharp edges on the holes themselves. Old holes are usually darker and dusty with no new frass.
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