Woodworm found in branches

[Chris P]

Possibly a strange question here?
I very recently got a used mesh enclosure and which came with several fake plants, vines and an umbrella plant, Also included were several nice looking branches which I'm guessing would have cost a fair bit.
The problem I have is that we have now noticed dust and pilot holes for woodworm within a couple of the branches. We also found a couple of dead flys which I know from experience are those developed from the woodworm larvae. (Some time ago we had an infestation in a newly laid oak floor which looked to be exactly the same bugs - They are called Powder Post Beetles and are fond of sappy woods such as Oak if anybody knows of them).
Has anybody else had similar issues?
I am concerned for 2 reasons: -
1. If my chameleon does try to eat one of the flys (although they are fairly small so he might not be interested or even notice them).
2. If I try to treat the branches with a woodworm treatment is there a potential harm to the chameleon.
It's quite frustrating as I paid over the top for the enclosure knowing it had a good amount of "extras" but I didn't anticipate them being riddled with woodworm.
I'd be interested to here if anybody else has had woodworm, if they have treated it and if so what with.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Pure]

Unless they are poisonous, there's no need to worry about your cham eating them.

If you wish to get rid of these pest, bake the wood @ 250* for 45 mins to an hr. IMO there is too much risk involved with using bleach on wood. It will no doubtfully absorb some of the bleach. To make sure you get rid of it all you have to set it out in the sun for a couple of days. Even then you have no way of knowing for sure that it's all evaporated from the wood. So stick to baking.

 

[xanthoman]

Unless they are poisonous, there's no need to worry about your cham eating them.

If you wish to get rid of these pest, bake the wood @ 250* for 45 mins to an hr. IMO there is too much risk involved with using bleach on wood. It will no doubtfully absorb some of the bleach. To make sure you get rid of it all you have to set it out in the sun for a couple of days. Even then you have no way of knowing for sure that it's all evaporated from the wood. So stick to baking.

i agree that baking is a better alternative than bleach , but only because baking will get everything and bleach may not penetrate to all parts of the the wood , also there are some things that bleach may not kill, for instance some encapuslated viruses and in the case of reptile parasites, some reptile parasites may be fairly well encapsulated as well, for example coccidia is fairly well encaspsulated and there are probably others. however if one is inclined to use a chemical disinfectant, bleach is fairly benign and among the safest of all chemical disinfectants, bleach is made from salt water (by passing an electrical current through it), and reverts back to salt water shortly after being oxidized (used). this is why bleach is one of the few chemical disinfectants approved for use in conjunction with food preparation surfaces. same problem with alchohol, it evaporates with no significant trace, but may not kill 100% of all organisims (contrary to popular opinion alchohol does not guaranty 100% sterilization) that is why heat is a better choice , enough heat, for long enough , will kill all. but in the event baking is not an option, (such as a climbing branch that is too big to fit into the oven), bleach is a safe alternative, it wouldnt hurt to rinse, but its primary residue is salt

 

[Clifford]

I'd just burn them and start over. You dont want any chance of those infesting other parts of your house (your furniture, floors, etc)