7B WOOD DESTROYING PESTS COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SCORED A+
✔✔Which powerdost beetle gets it name from making a ticking sound? -
✔✔Deathwatch beetle
✔✔T or F: It is not necessary to examine the surfaces or painted wood for powerpost
beetle infestations - ✔✔False
✔✔T of F: Habitat alteration alone may be all that's needed to control certain powerpost
beetle infestations? - ✔✔True
✔✔If true powerderpost beetles are identified as causing damage, where should control
activies be concentrated? - ✔✔Hardwood surfaces
✔✔If bostrichid or anobiid beetles are identified as causing damage, where should
actives be concentrated? - ✔✔Both hardwood and softwood surfaces
✔✔Which pesticide application is the most effective at penetrating into tunnels for
wood-boring beetle control but is also the most dangerous to handle? - ✔✔Fumigation
✔✔T of F: in most cases, residual sprays provide effective control of wood-boring beetle
infestations - ✔✔True
✔✔T or F: In treating finished wood, such as furniture or flooring, it is best to use an oil
solution to avoid spotting or in any way changing the appearance of the finish - ✔✔True
✔✔The old house borer is a member of which beetle family? - ✔✔Longhorned
✔✔What is not a characteristic of the old house borer? - ✔✔Damage appears shortly
after infestation
✔✔T of F: The old house borer is frequently a pest from a termite of new structures,
though it is found in older buildings - ✔✔T
✔✔What distinguishes a carpenter ant infestation from a termite or wood-boring beetle
infestation? - ✔✔Galleries with very smooth sides, brown stained tunnels
✔✔Carpenter ants forage for (blank) to sustain themselves from the colony -
✔✔honeydew, sugars, and insects
, ✔✔Termite and Ant comparison - ✔✔Termite: young are nymphs', thorax and abdomen
blend together (not narrow), wing veins not visible with the naked eye, leave many
broken wings in the swarm area
Ant: front pair of wings is wider and longer than the back pair, have "petiole" between
thorax and abdomen, undergo complete metamorphosis, have elbowed antennae
✔✔If the carpenter ant colony is found outside but the ants are a problem inside the
building, advise the client to: - ✔✔Trim trees where branches overhang or touch roofs,
and caulk and/or screen to prevent ant entryways
✔✔Which is not true about control of carpenter ants infestations? - ✔✔inspecting during
the day when carpenter ants are more active may be helpful (carpenter ants are more
active at night)
✔✔Which is not a characteristic of carpenter bees? - ✔✔Frass found in tunnels
✔✔What is not true about fungi? - ✔✔The belong to the plant kingdom
✔✔Which environmental conditions would favor the growth of fungi? - ✔✔Temperature
between 35-100 degrees F, moisture content of air-fried wood 19-30 percent
✔✔What is considered the optimal temperature range for fungi growth? - ✔✔70-85
degrees F
✔✔Which is not a characteristic of decay fungi? - ✔✔Early decay is more noted on
weathered discolored wood than on freshly exposed, unseasoned wood
✔✔Decay Fungi: - ✔✔Brown Rot: probably the most important decay of soft woods
used in aboveground construction, symptoms include excessive shrinkage and cross
grain cracking of wood, wood infected with this fungus can be greatly weakened before
decay is visible, the affected wood is easily crushed to a brown powder, includes a few
fungi that can infect relatively dry wood because of water conducting strands, breaks
down cellulose, but not lignin
White Rot: both lignin and cellulose are broken down, wood looks bleached, affected
wood shows normal shrinkage does not collapse or crack across the grain, and loses
strength gradually until spongy to the touch,
Soft Rot: usually attacks green (water-saturated) wood , affected wood surface darkens
and superficial layer up to 3-4 mm deep becomes very soft
✔✔What should the pest management professional do if white pocket rot is found in a
home? - ✔✔nothing
✔✔T of F: Dry Rot refers to brown rot fungi infecting completely dry wood - ✔✔T
2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SCORED A+
✔✔Which powerdost beetle gets it name from making a ticking sound? -
✔✔Deathwatch beetle
✔✔T or F: It is not necessary to examine the surfaces or painted wood for powerpost
beetle infestations - ✔✔False
✔✔T of F: Habitat alteration alone may be all that's needed to control certain powerpost
beetle infestations? - ✔✔True
✔✔If true powerderpost beetles are identified as causing damage, where should control
activies be concentrated? - ✔✔Hardwood surfaces
✔✔If bostrichid or anobiid beetles are identified as causing damage, where should
actives be concentrated? - ✔✔Both hardwood and softwood surfaces
✔✔Which pesticide application is the most effective at penetrating into tunnels for
wood-boring beetle control but is also the most dangerous to handle? - ✔✔Fumigation
✔✔T of F: in most cases, residual sprays provide effective control of wood-boring beetle
infestations - ✔✔True
✔✔T or F: In treating finished wood, such as furniture or flooring, it is best to use an oil
solution to avoid spotting or in any way changing the appearance of the finish - ✔✔True
✔✔The old house borer is a member of which beetle family? - ✔✔Longhorned
✔✔What is not a characteristic of the old house borer? - ✔✔Damage appears shortly
after infestation
✔✔T of F: The old house borer is frequently a pest from a termite of new structures,
though it is found in older buildings - ✔✔T
✔✔What distinguishes a carpenter ant infestation from a termite or wood-boring beetle
infestation? - ✔✔Galleries with very smooth sides, brown stained tunnels
✔✔Carpenter ants forage for (blank) to sustain themselves from the colony -
✔✔honeydew, sugars, and insects
, ✔✔Termite and Ant comparison - ✔✔Termite: young are nymphs', thorax and abdomen
blend together (not narrow), wing veins not visible with the naked eye, leave many
broken wings in the swarm area
Ant: front pair of wings is wider and longer than the back pair, have "petiole" between
thorax and abdomen, undergo complete metamorphosis, have elbowed antennae
✔✔If the carpenter ant colony is found outside but the ants are a problem inside the
building, advise the client to: - ✔✔Trim trees where branches overhang or touch roofs,
and caulk and/or screen to prevent ant entryways
✔✔Which is not true about control of carpenter ants infestations? - ✔✔inspecting during
the day when carpenter ants are more active may be helpful (carpenter ants are more
active at night)
✔✔Which is not a characteristic of carpenter bees? - ✔✔Frass found in tunnels
✔✔What is not true about fungi? - ✔✔The belong to the plant kingdom
✔✔Which environmental conditions would favor the growth of fungi? - ✔✔Temperature
between 35-100 degrees F, moisture content of air-fried wood 19-30 percent
✔✔What is considered the optimal temperature range for fungi growth? - ✔✔70-85
degrees F
✔✔Which is not a characteristic of decay fungi? - ✔✔Early decay is more noted on
weathered discolored wood than on freshly exposed, unseasoned wood
✔✔Decay Fungi: - ✔✔Brown Rot: probably the most important decay of soft woods
used in aboveground construction, symptoms include excessive shrinkage and cross
grain cracking of wood, wood infected with this fungus can be greatly weakened before
decay is visible, the affected wood is easily crushed to a brown powder, includes a few
fungi that can infect relatively dry wood because of water conducting strands, breaks
down cellulose, but not lignin
White Rot: both lignin and cellulose are broken down, wood looks bleached, affected
wood shows normal shrinkage does not collapse or crack across the grain, and loses
strength gradually until spongy to the touch,
Soft Rot: usually attacks green (water-saturated) wood , affected wood surface darkens
and superficial layer up to 3-4 mm deep becomes very soft
✔✔What should the pest management professional do if white pocket rot is found in a
home? - ✔✔nothing
✔✔T of F: Dry Rot refers to brown rot fungi infecting completely dry wood - ✔✔T
