Q. We have a wood floor in our home that repeatedly has termite mud holes and piles of sawdust showing up. The contractor has replaced some of the wood, but the problem continues. Is there any treatment that will work completely? Or does the entire wood floor need to be replaced?

What is the best way to get rid of wood-flooring termites?

A. If you are finding sawdust, then you probably have a wood-boring beetle, also known as a powder post beetle. The name is derived from the fine flour-like powder, or frass, the beetles discard.

The most common wood-boring beetle families are the lyctidae, bostrichidae and anobiidae. Only the anobiidae family of beetles can digest cellulose, the main ingredient of wood. All other species of wood-boring beetles excrete the wood without digesting it.

The beetles live and bore inside the wood and most likely were already in the hardwood flooring when you purchased it.

The lyctus beetle may also be present in wood furniture and paneling and can be brought into the home in firewood. The beetle larvae spend several months inside the wood, where the damage goes unseen. It's only when the adult beetle exits the wood that the pinhole damage becomes evident. The female beetle will often leave behind eggs to hatch to continue the cycle of their species and further damaging the wood.

Other cellulose items in the home can be infested with wood-boring beetles -- books, toys, tool handles, bamboo flooring and structural lumber.

Termites also damage wood flooring and structural lumber, but termites are not often seen until they swarm, which is usually in the spring and fall. In order to survive, termites build shelter tubes for protection, climate control and energy sources.

The subterranean termite must return to the ground where the main colony is established. Dry-wood termites can sustain a colony above the ground, but they still need a source of moisture. When checking for termites, look for the distinctive mud-colored shelter tubes that meander as the termites forage for food.

And that's about all they do is feed, and your house is the food source.

Whether you have termites or wood-boring beetles, do not attempt to treat the problem yourself. The environmental damage that can be caused by improper use of store-bought chemicals can be serious. My best advice is to hire a licensed professional pest-control operator to rid your home of unwanted pests.

Dwight Barnett is a certified master inspector with the American Society of Home Inspectors. Send home improvement questions to: Dwight Barnett, Evansville Courier & Press, P.O. Box 286, Evansville, Ind. 47702.