Plywood offers tremendous advantages over other materials you may use for your furniture, furnishings, and fixtures. Veneer plywood can also help give your interior an elegant touch. Yet many people are hesitant about using plywood because they fear termite infestation. That’s unfortunate as nothing can replace plywood in this. And taking a few cautionary measures can help you make your plywood termite resistant.

Why are Termites Harmful?

Termites are little insects that live by consuming dead wood. This makes them very dangerous for your furniture. They can eat your furniture from inside while leaving the outer layers intact and this makes it hard to detect their presence. Moreover, they create dust which can cause health problems.

How do I know Whether my Furniture has Termites or Not?

There are several signs of termite infestation that can be observed. These include sawdust, mud-tube formations on wooden things, minute wings, or wood-colored termite droppings near a piece of furniture. Another sign is the weakness of wood. With adequate care, good-quality plywood will last for decades and stay strong all that time. If your furniture has suddenly grown withered or hollow, that might be another sign of termite infestation. 

What can I do?

A few simple steps can help in making your plywood termite-resistant. These are:

• Using High-Quality BWP plywood

The first and foremost thing to do is use high-quality Boiling Water Proof plywood. This plywood can resist termite infestation besides offering several other advantages like resistance to heat and moisture. It is so made that it can withstand being exposed to boiling water for three days. 

We must further add two notes of caution in this regard – firstly, you can not take the word of your supplier on the question as BWP fraud is very common. You must experiment yourself by putting a small piece of plywood in boiling water for three days to see if it is genuinely BWP. If the sample shows any sign of wear and tear, it is of inferior quality.

Secondly, since BWP plywood can only be produced on a large scale, it won’t be available in the unorganized sector.

• Ask about warranties against termites.

Plywood products are sold with warranties, much like any other product. However, unlike some other products, your plywood must offer protection not only against manufacturing defects but also against termite infestation. It is highly recommended to ask questions about plywood’s ability to resist termites explicitly before buying.

• Keep your plywood furniture dry and clean.

Most termite infestation problems occur when the wood is exposed to moisture. That is because subterranean termites only thrive in dark and moist conditions. It is thus highly recommended to keep your plywood furniture dry. If your furniture has got wet for some reason, it is highly recommended that you put it in sunlight for a few hours to dry it. Sunlight will also be fatal to any termites that may already have infested the furniture. That said, make sure you don’t let your furniture come in direct contact with soil while doing so. Wood Veneer and exposure to the sun can reduce the moisture in your plywood by up to 12 percent.

• Buy your plywood from the organized sector only.

Eighty percent of the plywood sales in India are made in the unorganized sector. That is unfortunate because the end-users have no way of exercising their rights if the product doesn’t turn out to be of the right quality. As mentioned above, BWP grade, which is the highest quality of plywood, is only available in the organized sector. Thus, one must make plywood purchases from the organized sector only.

Wrapping up

We hope that the above measures will help you make your plywood products termite-resistant as we wrap up. Other good measures include getting pest control done periodically, using polish, etc. You can also learn more on the subject by investing an hour in an excellent book, ‘Smart Plywood Buying Guide,’ written by India’s leading expert Akhilesh Chitlangia. You can download it for free here: http://www.plywoodguide.com