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Welcome again to another episode of the faith pest control Podcast. I’m Mike Stewart and I’m here with pest expert Fred Talley. And we’re going to be talking about wood decay. Fun wood decay fungus. Now wait a minute fungus. Is that a pest? Is that a insect? You know, why would pest control be concerned about wood decay fungus? Well, we’re going to talk about it because I’m guarantee and the north Georgia mountains especially Jasper, Georgia, and Blue Ridge, Georgia and Ellijay, Georgia, and big canoe, there’s a lot of wood that’s decaying, and it’s got fungus on it. So Gee, Fred, I’m confused. clear this up helped me understand what is wood decay fungus? Well, Mikey, I guess from a technical aspect in the state of Georgia only recognizes five organisms, if you will, as wood destroying organisms. Subterranean termites is what everybody is aware of. And but that’s only one of the five wood decay fungus, it takes up one other of those spaces. Now. You know, it’s not an insect at all, it is a fungus that gets in the wood due to the moisture content. So what decay fungus is, is really any species of fungus that that will digest moist wood and causing it to rot. Some species of wood decay fungi, attack dead wood and some can be parasitic and colonize on living trees. Our discussion here is limited to one to one wood this wood decay fungus specifically associated with our homes which will be dead wood, we don’t build our houses out of Live wood, it’s dead with that point. So we’re going to talk about the wood decay fungi that attacks dead wood. Wood decay fungus in and of itself is not a bad thing, as this process will cause the breakdown of the nutrients and molecules you know there that are that still exist in the dead wood and allows those nutrients to return to the soil. Just like for subterranean termites. in and of themselves. They’re not a bad thing. We just don’t want them in our in our home, because they help the human race if you will, the human population by cleaning up are the forest floors. You know, if we didn’t have termites, we would have dead trees and lambs and roots and stuff piled up everywhere. So that’s kind of the same idea. The the wood decay fungus will attack moist wood, it’s just laying on the forest floor, as well as wood that may be in your house. The strength and integrity of the wood can be affected by wood decay fungus, one decaying fungus in moist humid parts of the world. Such as North Georgia that kg of dead wood and buildings can be a huge problem. Moisture, in some form or another is mandatory for the growth of the Tonga which which is what causes the wood rot. A fungus will send money threads is called mycelium through the wood taking its food from the wood as the fungus grows, the visible body if you will, or the fruiting body is on the outside of the surface of the wood. But when the fruiting body when mature can produce these tiny spores that are present in in the air in the soul. So two major types of fungi can attack the wood their surface molds, also known as surface mildew, SAP stain fungi or blue stain fungi that will color the wood various colors. But these these do not reduce the strength of the wood, you know where they’re growing. There is also a rot fungi and that’s what we’re here to talk about. Which is also known as a decay fungi which either bleached the wood or make it brown and crumbly. This these rot fungi do reduce the strength of wood and can be as destructive as Turmel is termites and other wood destroying insects. Surface molds will grow rapidly and and then the K will find guy will often appear on wood the the surface mold fungus I will often appear on wood during the construction process after would draw it dries out. The fungus grows we’ll grow the fungus growth canning talk today, the fungus growth will stop. However, the the presence of the surface mole is an indication that the conditions at least at some point in time were suitable for decay. Most wood decay fungi only grow on wood that is subject to moisture, moist soil, rainwater, faulty plumbing and plumbing leaks. There is one specific fungus it’s called Perea and Kasara that can actually conduct would conduct water to the wood, causing this the severe damage to the wood, even though that particular wood may not be exposed directly to the moisture. The wood decay fungi that we deal with here in North Georgia is known as white rot, brown rot and Perea and Kasara white rot will give the wood like kind of like a bleached appearance. In the dust, the strength of the wood actually decreases over time, until it becomes spongy to the touch. And when broken apart. It’s kind of it’s kind of real stringy, the brown rot, also commonly referred to as dry rot, but it’s not dry rot turns the wood Brown and breaks it into like little brown squares or cubes if you will, with cracks that are perpendicular to the woodgrain This is the principal cause of building decay in the United States is brown rot and it causes a very rapid loss of strength in the infested wood. Now the Perea interesada also referred to as would conduct a wood water conducting fungi are recognizable by bull by a slike a why these two yellowish looks like a look kind of looks like a paper fan. But it’s the mycelial that I was talking about earlier is kind of a that you’ll see on the surface of the wood but then there’ll be a kind of a dirty white almost black looking root like structure is called Horizon more and it is connected to the ground somewhere and it can conduct water into the wood from up to as far as 25 feet from the wood. Therefore this this particular fungus can attack wood that other wood destroying fungi cannot destroy it but it can destroy large large amounts of wood in just one or two years. So it’s a fairly quick acting only by eliminating the moisture source can wood decay fungi be completely controlled a chemical application is really a it’s sometimes almost useless in the in the management of wood decay fungus. The first step in correcting wood decay fungus problem is to identify the source of the moisture and laminate it if possible. Sometimes it’s not possible to eliminate the moisture source of the moisture if you’re in a situation where it’s not possible to eliminate the source of the moisture you know the really the only option you have is to remove all the badly rotted wood and replace it with dry lumber but that dry lumber needs to be treated pressure treated with a wood preservative you know before you install it the wood in an ventilated crawl spaces. And I mentioned that now because it’s very, very common anymore to have the spray foam insulation in in these in crawl spaces. It’s probably not a terrible idea if the if the crawlspace is encapsulated, because here in Georgia when a crawlspace is encapsulated you you have to have a conditioned air in that space. So that is a moisture control in and of itself the condition there. But if you’re in an unventilated crawlspace and it’s not encapsulated, where the under the House is very subject to high levels of dampness and moisture.
condensation of water after evaporation from the soul is actually the most common source of water. And subsequently the wood decay problems that comes with that I have been in crawl spaces where the, you know, in the ground would just be damp, it wouldn’t be like sitting, having water standing on top of it. But some of the wood would literally be dripping with water. moisture content in the wood above, above 20% can lead to decay. Now most like most framing lumber, I believe the the, the requirement for that is 19% or less moisture content when they you know when it comes off of their yard. Hardwood flooring is in single digits like 545 6% moisture content. So 20% It’s actually pretty high. You know, water. As far as preventative things that one can do, the water around your home should drain away from your home. And you know, the the way to handle that properly is is in the beginning is in the grading process to make sure the water flows away from the house not to the House have proper roof overhang. And you know, gutters and downspouts obviously, are something that needs to be taken into consideration because you can pipe that water off and get it away from the house. But in a crawlspace proper ventilation is crucial. It’s not really that difficult to accomplish, you can do it with the critical placement of foundation vents so that you provide cross ventilation in that area, as well as the installation of a vapor barrier. Now this isn’t homes that don’t have a n and k encapsulated crawlspace. The installation of a vapor barrier on the crawlspace. What that does is cause the soil moisture to to condense on the underside of the vapor barrier. That way, it just goes right back to the soul rather than condense on the floor joist above it. Now the the one big mistake I see most people that try to do this themselves, they want to cover 100% of the surface of the soil. Tape every joint in the plastic because you’re not going to get one solid piece of plastic down there. But that’s really not what you want to do. Because you don’t you really only want to cover about 90% of the soil surface you you’ve heard the term that a house needs to breathe. And in my opinion, you one can prevent that by by trying to cover too much area with a vapor barrier. Anyway, here at Faith pest control, we offer a free consultation and a free and 100% make you happy money back guarantee. If you hire faith pest control, to get rid of your drug problem, and or your fungus problem in 30 to 30 days, you’re not 100% Happy, we’ll come back and retreat your home for free. We’ll keep on trading it for free until you tell us that you are happy. That still doesn’t make you happy. I’ll give you back every penny of the money you spent on their original treatment. Plus, pay you an additional $25 for your time and trouble just for the fact that you filled with bottom line is I want you to be happy with the service we provide or you won’t pay a penny period. Do you feel like what I’ve said makes sense. Please call fates pest control today 770-823-9202 and ask to speak to me, Fred Talley. I’ll be more than happy to speak with you and answer any questions that you might have. All as always, Fred, you’re very thorough and explaining today would decay fungus is a problem people need to pay attention to if they have any questions. Definitely call Fred to get clarity. Don’t let that destroy your home. Especially if you live in the Jasper, Georgia area the north Georgia mountains llj Blue Ridge and big canoe. We do this podcast as a public service for all the folks that those areas. You can find them on your favorite places to get podcasts, Apple, Google, Amazon and Spotify and we are continuing to do that. share this podcast with your friends if you want to know just how to have a pest free home. There are over 50 episodes right now covering all kinds of problems that you can have with pass. And of course, obviously you have a pest expert living amongst you. They’d be more than happy to take your phone call and explain and solve those problems for you. So until next time, Mike Stewart for the faith pest control podcast.
