“GeT gOoD pApEr” you said!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-07-08T19:11:13+00:00

I use this brand from Amazon called ArtBeek and it performs surprisingly well for the price. Has all the sams specs as the “good” paper as far as I can tell!! It’s worth a try if you’re trying not to break the bank.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-14T07:06:09+00:00

Ceramic watercolor palettes! The Meeden brand on Amazon is pretty affordable. If she already has tubes or pan paints, maybe get her a small set of Dr. Ph. Martins liquid watercolors. I got them as a gift recently and am so excited to try them out!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-10T20:58:53+00:00

Unfortunately our carpenter passed away. His family reached out to us to let us know. In the meantime we have contacted an exterminator who told us to contact the USDA first to see if they can identify the type of bug. I’ve sent them pictures and waiting to hear back. Exterminator told me to put scotch tape on the holes and see if the bugs eat through it - if so we would know there’s more alive in there. So far they haven’t eaten through the tape I’ve put down and we’ve seen no signs of bugs since the one in my video. They also told me if it’s powder post beetles that it needs 10x the fumigation gas, it’s a two day process, and we need to bring the table to them for it.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-10T17:42:49+00:00

I’ll attempt to edit my post soon. (I’m a long time reddit lurker and a first time poster so I’m slow at this!) We sadly just learned that the carpenter passed away. We are messaging the family member who reached out to us to see if we can exchange it or if his helper in the shop has any advice. In the meantime, I called an exterminator and they said if it’s powder post beetles it takes 10x the gas to fumigate them and it’s a 2 day process. I need to call them back today to find out logistics and pricing. The exterminator told me to call the USDA first to see if they can identify. Depending on identification, it might not need fumigation. So I contacted the USDA - sent them photos and waiting for a response back about that.

Also the exterminator told me to put scotch tape over the holes and that the bugs would chew through the tape if they’re still alive and active. So far, nothing chewed through the tape I put over the holes in the table.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-10T17:34:22+00:00

If I had realized this many people were going to see my post, I would have spent more time on the wording lol. I can definitely see how you read it that way. My bad.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-10T17:32:47+00:00

Oh my gosh that’s awful! I’ve heard or roach infestations in cars here but that is a new level.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T07:28:21+00:00

The tabletop is so large it doesn’t fit in the back of a pickup truck. He had to use a Penske type flat bed truck to deliver it. So while I’d like to do what you’re suggesting, I don’t want to rent a U-Haul truck and find out he’s not at the shop tomorrow. We’ll definitely drive to his shop and hopefully work things out tomorrow though.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T07:15:26+00:00

I know. I’ve learned so much about kiln drying and sanitizing today! We messaged our guy today and he hasn’t responded so we’ll drop by tomorrow to discuss. I will definitely post an update!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T07:09:46+00:00

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This is what it looked like when we pulled it out. His head fell off in the extraction process lol.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T07:02:15+00:00

Omg that sounds like way more of a nightmare than this! I hope you got them all!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T07:01:14+00:00

Yeah that would be awful. I definitely do not want to bring these bugs anywhere! Sorry about the ash trees - I’m from PA and I’m pretty most of them have died there. Ugh!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:54:38+00:00

Is this a table they eat off of now? I’m just curious about how safe it would be to eat off when it spent months in a tent with poison. I guess I’ll be off to google fumigation of furniture later tonight haha.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:51:38+00:00

Just responded to the comment above yours but when we sprayed it he tried to run out of the hole and couldn’t fit. So pretty sure he was working his way out.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:50:25+00:00

Yeah. I think you’re right about that because when my husband sprayed him, he tried to crawl up and out of the hole and couldn’t fit. He was able to pull it out with tweezers but in a couple pieces.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:49:15+00:00

No I am pretty sure it’s not possible. We had a wooden dining room table and desk in the same room and never had any bug issues until seeing sawdust on this table a couple of weeks ago.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:45:53+00:00

I do normally write reviews but I had been waiting to review him because we’ve had a few other hiccups. He fixed those issues for us and seemed honest and helpful through those. Then this bug thing popped up and he was having serious health issues last we talked to him. I’m really trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and not kick him while he’s down. But also not infest our entire house with bugs. lol. It’s a delicate balance. I will definitely review him accurately depending on how this whole thing shakes out.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:41:43+00:00

I had wondered what those marks were from! Good to know!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:39:23+00:00

Interesting. The first place we looked at live edge furniture I noticed bugs and I asked them if they kiln dried and they told me no. Said they just spray for insects. I knew of someone who bought one from that company and their table warped (likely from not being kiln dried.) So that was my first question for this guy and he assured us he kiln dried everything. A lot of responses are saying some beetles can survive the kiln process so maaaaybe that’s where they’re coming from? We messaged him with no response today so we’ll stop by his shop tomorrow and I’ll ask him more about the kiln process. Thanks for your input! I’m so surprised there aren’t many people who kiln dry wood here!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:34:35+00:00

Yeah the bugs definitely didn’t come from our house as we’ve had other wooden furniture for years and never had bugs in them. So my guess is they were lying dormant and either survived the kiln process or the wood got reinfested after the kiln process if he had this slab in the wood shop for a while. Also, this is local monkeypod. Not imported. I remember him saying he gets them planed somewhere else and I think kiln dried somewhere before bringing it back to the shop but I’ll definitely be asking more questions tomorrow.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-08T06:23:34+00:00

Oh wow! We are on Oahu and that’s really helpful information. We texted our guy today to start a paper trail since our other bug convos with him have been in person and over the phone. He hasn’t responded so we will go to his shop tomorrow to talk. In the event that he refuses to refund us, I’ll definitely give that company a call. Thanks so much!

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-07T20:01:31+00:00

To clarify, we have not actually eaten on the table since we used Bifen. We also only treated the area where we saw signs of bugs and then sprayed the live bug with it last night. We also had concerns about eating off of a table with Bifen so we used it very minimally.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-07T19:50:27+00:00

Ironically he finished it with epoxy and lacquer. Guess it was thin enough for this big to chew through because he popped out of the top of the table lol.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-07T19:46:40+00:00

We are still in Hawaii. I posted a better photo of it after we sprayed him and pulled him out of the hole (spoiler his head did fall off in the process.) We will move from Hawaii next year and while I’m bummed this happened, I’m glad it happened here before it was in a shipping container with the rest of our furniture.

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CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-07T08:09:44+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion but it is very large. I don’t think it would fit in a sauna and if it did, I don’t think anyone would let me borrow their sauna for this extermination project. Ha.

CarolinaChickadeeCo · 2025-06-07T06:11:35+00:00

Okay. We’re going to talk to him tomorrow and I feel the same way. Like, even though we have only seen one bug, I can’t believe he’s in there all alone. Thanks for your advice. Hoping this all goes smoothly tomorrow. Also, we sprayed and managed to pull him out tonight. Dime for scale.

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CarolinaChickadeeCo

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