Odd things from a cork log from Petsmart

[trickyspark]

My mother picked up on of those natural hollowed out cork logs that you can either split in half or leave whole from Petsmart for my birthday.

I placed it in my lizards tank, and my wife has since noticed small worms in the log and powdered wood on the log and around the carpet. The other day i took out his stuff to clean the tank and I found these light brown, long skinny beetles under the carpet. There were 3 in all. I wish I took a pic of them, but I fed them to my turtle.

Anyone have any idea what these might be? My lizard seems to have a liking to sitting on the cork and I wanted to make sure these little worms/beetles wouldn't be toxic if he ate one.

 

[Shiva]

I found something on a log within my gecko enclosure...not a beetle but some kind of very small bug...i took the log out and microwaved it for 4 minutes or so (i wet the log before putting it in) it was smokey and quite warm and the bugs were all dead (on a white paper towel)...have not had a problem since. I dont know how cork would fare in a microwave.
imo i would want to take care of them...if they are there what else might be living in it...

 

[AtlasStrike]

Wash with a bleach solution. But, that sounds like termites. You DO NOT want those in your house.

 

[DNADragons]

Powder post beetles. Not harmful, freeze or microwave the log will take care of them. They should have been kiln dried in manufacturing so it is something that likely happened during distribution. One contaminated log could infest others. They are considered wood destroying organisms but not nearly as distructive as termites. Termites would not survive inside of the log as they need moisture.

 

[izzbo]

Just soak it in a bleach solution and then bake it in the over to dry it. That's what I do w/all my wood stuff I get. I think it works, but I've never gotten out the microscope to check.

 

[trickyspark]

Hey thanks, they are indeed powder post beetles.

http://www.termaguard.com/images/powder-post-beetle.jpg

I pulled that pic off an image search, I'd never heard of them. Thanks for the advice and info.

 

[Sierra1167]

I had something simliar happen, but it was supers that hadn't been eaten. They burrowed into the half log. I have also seen it with a natural stick I had in another tank. It is scary how those supers can chew through the wood so easily.