Borer · Auckland-wide

Borer Treatment Auckland

Borer treatment for Auckland homes: subfloors, roof voids, weatherboards and furniture. We confirm whether borer is active before treating. Written quote.

Species identified before anything is treated
Typical cost $350 – $950 incl. GST — quoted up front
Written record of products used and where they went

09 925 0448 Get a free estimate

Trained & insured techniciansUrban pest management, applied to label

Usually within 2–4 working daysUrgent jobs prioritised where we can

Pet & child-conscious methodsEPA-approved products, targeted placement

Written record every visitWhat was used, where, and what to seal

Borer treatment in Auckland: the short answer

Borer treatment in Auckland typically costs $350 to $950 including GST: a roof void from about $350, a subfloor from about $750, and a whole house or furniture quoted after inspection. The usual culprit is the common house borer (Anobium punctatum), a small beetle whose larvae tunnel through the sapwood of untreated timber for three to four years before chewing their way out through round flight holes 1–2 mm across. Old flight holes are not proof of an active infestation. Plenty of Auckland villas carry damage that stopped decades ago. We confirm activity first, from fresh holes and fresh bore dust, and treat only what is active. Here is how to tell if borer is active.

Signs to look for

Signs of active borer in your house

Fresh flight holes with pale, clean edges. Old holes are dark and dirty, and are often clogged with paint or dust
Small piles of fine bore dust (frass) below timber: on floors, windowsills, stair treads or in the roof space
Small brown beetles on windowsills or caught in cobwebs during the flight season, roughly October to February
Crumbly or powdery edges on floorboards, skirting, stairs or furniture when pressed with a screwdriver
Soft or springy floors over a damp subfloor, where borer and moisture tend to go together
A builder's or pre-purchase report noting "borer present". Ask whether it is active or historic

If any of these sound familiar, describe what you have noticed when you call — where it is, when it started and what you have seen. You do not need to identify anything yourself. Call 09 925 0448 or request an estimate online.

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Tell us what is going on. We will come back with a firm price, usually the same day.

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Know what you have

Borer in Auckland homes: common house borer, two-toothed longhorn and powderpost beetle

Three beetles cause almost all the borer damage in Auckland homes, and they differ in which timber they eat, how much harm they do and how they are treated. The huhu is not one of them: it is a large native beetle whose grubs live in damp, rotting logs and stumps rather than the dry timber of a sound house. Our guide to huhu beetles and grubs explains the difference.

Common house borer

Anobium punctatum: also called the furniture beetle or woodworm

A small brown beetle, about 2.5–5 mm long, and the cause of most insect damage to building timber in New Zealand. Its flight holes are round and only 1–2 mm across, and its bore dust feels gritty between the fingers. The larvae feed mainly in the sapwood of untreated timber, including radiata pine, rimu and kahikatea, grow faster where the air is damp, and pupate inside the wood. Adults emerge from about October to February, most of them between November and January.

Two-toothed longhorn

Ambeodontus tristis: native

A native longhorn beetle up to 25 mm long that leaves oval exit holes roughly 3–7 mm across. Its larvae can stay in the wood for anywhere from 2 to 11 years and, unlike house borer, tunnel through heartwood as well as sapwood. Untreated rimu in a damp, poorly ventilated subfloor is the classic target: bearers, joists and floor framing can be hollowed to a thin shell before anything shows on the surface. Adults emerge in autumn and early winter.

Powderpost beetle

Lyctus species

It feeds in the sapwood of seasoned hardwoods, not the softwood framing most houses are built from, so in New Zealand it turns up mainly in furniture, joinery and hardwood flooring such as tawa, oak and ash. The frass gives it away: very fine and soft, like talcum powder, where house borer dust is gritty. Exit holes are round and under 2 mm. Adults usually emerge in spring, around October and November, and one generation typically takes about a year.

Our method

How we treat borer

Every job follows the same sequence, because skipping a step is how treatments end up being repeated at your expense.

Inspection: active or historic?
We check the roof space, the subfloor (piles, bearers, joists and the underside of the floorboards), the exterior weatherboards and any furniture you are worried about. Each area is recorded as active, historic or clear. Active means fresh flight holes with pale, clean edges, or fresh bore dust. Old damage with no fresh signs is noted and left alone.
Moisture and ventilation check
Borer larvae grow faster in damp timber, and the two-toothed longhorn is found mostly in poorly ventilated subfloors. We look for blocked vents, plumbing and roof leaks, and wet ground under the house, then tell you what to fix. Broken vent grilles are also a common way in for rodents in the subfloor, so one repair can solve two problems.
Targeted treatment
Roof voids get an aerosol treatment timed to the flight season, to knock down adult beetles before they lay eggs. Bare subfloor timber and unpainted exterior boards get a residual insecticide, sprayed or brushed on so it soaks into the surface. Furniture has its flight holes injected. Painted and varnished timber is injected rather than sprayed, because the coating stops a spray soaking in.
Structural referral where needed
If a screwdriver sinks into a bearer or joist, or a floor feels soft underfoot, treatment alone will not fix it. We tell you so, mark the timber on our report and recommend a builder or building surveyor to assess its strength. We do not carry out building repairs ourselves, and any replacement timber should be treated to the correct hazard class.
Flight-season follow-up
Larvae already inside the timber keep emerging for several seasons, so a single treatment rarely finishes the job. We recommend a follow-up treatment in the next flight season, with a re-inspection of treated areas to confirm no new holes or dust have appeared. We quote the follow-up alongside the first job, so you know the full cost from the start.

Pricing

How much borer treatment costs in Auckland

Typical range for this service is $350 – $950 including GST. We quote before we start, and the price we give you is the price you pay unless the job turns out to be materially different from what was described on the phone.

What moves the price: property size and access, how far the infestation has progressed, whether roof or subfloor work is needed, and whether follow-up visits are required to complete the job properly.

See the full cost guide

Typical cost: $350 – $950 incl. GST
Call-out fee: None
Typical wait: 2–4 working days
Follow-up: Included where the pest requires one
Coverage: Wider Auckland region
Documentation: Written record of products and placements

Where we work

Borer Treatment across Auckland

Borer is most common in older houses built from native timber or untreated pine: the villas and bungalows of the central isthmus, such as Mount Eden, Epsom and Remuera, and older North Shore suburbs like Devonport and Birkenhead.

Guides on this pest

Borer in New Zealand Homes: How to Identify It and Tell If It's Still Active · 10 min read
How to Treat Borer in NZ: Borer Bombs, Sprays, Furniture and When to Call a Pro · 9 min read
Huhu Beetles and Huhu Grubs: What They Are, Whether They Bite, and Whether They Damage Houses · 8 min read

All pest advice guides →

Questions

Borer treatment: questions people ask

How much does borer treatment cost in NZ?

In Auckland, borer treatment typically costs $350 to $950 including GST. A roof void treatment starts from about $350 and a subfloor from about $750, while a whole house or individual pieces of furniture are quoted after inspection. The price moves with which zones are active, how easy the access is, how much timber is affected and whether furniture needs injecting. Our Auckland pest control cost guide covers the other services too.

Can I treat borer myself?

Often, for timber you can reach. Bare, unpainted wood can be sprayed or brushed with a borer product, small furniture can have its flight holes injected, and an aerosol can knock down adult beetles in an enclosed roof space. It gets harder in a low subfloor, on structural timber, or when you cannot tell whether the borer is still active. Our guide on how to treat borer yourself covers what works and what does not.

Do borers eat treated wood?

Properly treated timber is rarely attacked. Boron-treated pine framing, specified today as hazard class H1.2 under NZS 3640, must have its sapwood fully penetrated by the preservative, which protects it against borer and decay. The risk sits in untreated timber: native-timber houses built before boron treatment began in the 1950s, and some homes built between the late 1990s and 2004, when untreated kiln-dried framing was permitted.

How serious is borer?

Usually slow, and often cosmetic. A few flight holes in a skirting board or the edge of a floorboard rarely matter structurally. It becomes serious when load-bearing timber such as piles, bearers and joists is heavily tunnelled, which is most common with the two-toothed longhorn in damp subfloors. If a screwdriver sinks easily into structural timber, or floors feel soft or springy, have a builder or building surveyor assess its strength.

What kills wood borer?

Insecticides do, provided they reach the right stage at the right time. Larvae deep inside the timber are hard to reach, so treatments work at the surface: a residual product that soaks into bare wood kills larvae feeding near the surface and adults chewing their way out, and deters females from laying eggs. Aerosols kill only the adults they contact in the air or on surfaces, which is why they are timed to the flight season.

Is fumigation needed for borer?

Rarely, for a house. Gas fumigation has a place for infested timber, furniture and imported goods, but borer damage in a home is local and slow, so tenting a whole house for it is almost never justified. Targeted treatment of the active zones, whether the roof void, the subfloor, exterior timber or one piece of furniture, is the normal approach. We do not offer whole-house fumigation.

Could it be termites rather than borer?

In an Auckland house, borer is far more likely. Borer leaves small round flight holes and gritty bore dust. Termites leave no round holes; look instead for hard pellets about 1 mm long, discarded wings, or mud packed into the timber. Native termites live in dead or damp wood, while exotic termites must be reported to MPI on 0800 80 99 66, not treated privately. If you are unsure, a termite inspection settles it.

Is borer a problem when buying a house?

It is common in Auckland villas and bungalows, so expect to see it mentioned in a pre-purchase report, but it is not automatically a deal-breaker. Ask the inspector three questions: is it active or historic, which timbers are affected, and is any load-bearing timber weakened? Historic damage in floorboards is usually cosmetic. Active borer in subfloor framing is worth pricing before you negotiate, and structural damage needs a builder's quote.

When is the best time to treat borer?

Before and during the flight season. The common house borer emerges from about October to February, with most adults out between November and January, and females lay their eggs soon after. A surface treatment applied in early spring is in place when they emerge. Aerosol treatment of a roof void works best between October and March, while adults are flying. Surface sprays on bare timber can go on at any time of year.

More services

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References and further reading

Written and reviewed by the Pest Control Auckland technical team. Last reviewed 24 September 2026.

Need borer treatment in Auckland?

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