CA BRANCH 3 EVALUATION EXAMS 2025/2026 QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Where do drywood termites most often occur? - ✔✔In southern Florida, southern
California, and along the southern gulf coast of the United States.
✔✔Do drywood termites live entirely within wood? Why or why not? - ✔✔Yes, because
they require little moisture (wood MCs as low as 5%). Unlike subterranean termites,
drywood termites have no connection with the soil.
✔✔List several ways you can protect wood from termites. - ✔✔To protect wood from
subterranean termites, you can:
• apply insecticides to the soil around buildings, and
• avoid using wood mulches next to buildings.
To protect wood from subterranean and drywood termites, you can:
• use physical barriers on foundations, and
• use properly preserved wood, which makes it undesirable as a food source.
✔✔Describe the frass of powderpost beetles. - ✔✔Powderpost beetle frass appears as
a fine wood dust or powder. Slight jarring of infested wood can cause the frass to sift
from holes. This is a sure sign of a powderpost beetle infestation. In addition, the frass
of anobiid beetles has a distinctive hotdog bun shape.
✔✔For most wood-boring beetles, what life stage causes the most damage to wood by
boring inside the wood? - ✔✔The larvae (grub). The exception is the ambrosia beetle in
which the adult bores within the wood.
✔✔How do ambrosia beetles damage wood? - ✔✔They degrade wood by staining it, by
creating numerous entrance holes (pinholes), and by boring inside the wood.
✔✔What type of wood does each group of wood boring beetles discussed in this
manual prefer? - ✔✔Ambrosia beetles - green logs or green lumber; softwoods and
hardwoods.
,Powderpost beetles - seasoned lumber and timbers, particularly joists, sub flooring,
hardwood flooring, sill plates, and interior trim; softwoods and hardwoods.
Old house borers - seasoned wood; softwoods such as pine, spruce, and fir.
Flatheaded borers - living trees as well as recently felled and dead standing softwood
trees; rustic structures and some manufactured products.
✔✔How do powderpost beetles get their name? - ✔✔In the tunnels that they bore,
powderpost beetle larvae leave undigested wood particles called "frass." Frass usually
appears as a fine wood dust or powder. When you cut or break infested wood, the
interior reveals galleries filled with frass. Slight jarring of the wood often causes a fine
powder to sift from the holes. These are all sure signs of a powderpost beetle
infestation.
✔✔Which type of powderpost beetle prefers hardwoods? - ✔✔Lyctids.
✔✔Describe the differences in the frass produced by the three different groups of
powderpost beetles described in this manual. - ✔✔Lyctids - very fine and powdery
frass; also very abundant.
Anobiids - coarse and powdery frass; also contains distinctive fecal pellets shaped like
hotdog buns.
Bostrichids - grainy or mealy frass tightly packed in galleries.
✔✔The adult of which type of powderpost beetle has a humpbacked appearance? -
✔✔Bostrichids.
✔✔Describe the appearance of an adult old house borer. - ✔✔Adults are about 3/4 inch
long and grayish brown to black. They have two white patches on the wing covers.
✔✔Do wood-boring beetles structurally damage the wood that they infest? - ✔✔One
generation of beetle damage does not usually weaken wood. But, boring of generation
after generation can reduce the strength and integrity of wood.
✔✔What are exit holes? Why are they important to pest managers? - ✔✔An exit hole is
the location where an adult beetle has emerged from wood. Exit holes range in size and
shape depending on the species of beetle that made them. Because adult beetles are
rarely seen, exit holes are often the best and only way to identify the infesting beetle.
, ✔✔Describe the difference between the exit holes of powderpost beetles and the exit
holes of old house borers. - ✔✔Powderpost beetle exit holes are generally small (about
1/32 to 5/16 inch wide) and perfectly round. Old house borer exit holes are larger (about
1/4 to 3/8 inch wide) and irregularly shaped (often oval).
✔✔True or False: Old house borers attack only aged wood. - ✔✔False.
✔✔Do carpenter ants use wood for shelter or food? Describe the type of wood they
prefer for this purpose? - ✔✔Shelter. They generally seek soft, moist wood in which to
establish their nests. You can often find them in old stumps and other wood that has
been softened by decay. They also attack wood in service such as utility poles. In
structures, they often nest in porch columns, roofs, windowsills, hollow-core doors,
wood scraps in dirt-filled porches, and wood in contact with soil. Although carpenter
ants can extend their tunnels into dry wood, they must have high humidity in their
nesting area.
✔✔How can you distinguish the damage of carpenter ants from damage caused by
termites or wood-boring beetles? - ✔✔Carpenter ant galleries do not follow the grain
and occur in the softer portions of the wood. Carpenter ants keep their galleries smooth
and clean. You will not find mud in the galleries as you do with subterranean termites.
Nor will carpenter ant galleries contain any powdery dust or pellets like wood-borer
frass.
✔✔Do all wood preservatives protect wood from carpenter ants and carpenter bees? -
✔✔Unfortunately, some preservatives may not completely protect wood against
damage from carpenter ants or carpenter bees. Suppliers of wood treated with these
chemicals may exclude carpenter ant and carpenter bee damage from warranties that
they offer.
✔✔How can you distinguish a carpenter bee from a bumblebee? - ✔✔Carpenter bees
have shiny, black, hairless abdomens, whereas the abdomen of a bumblebee is yellow
and hairy. Bumblebees also have large pollen baskets on their hind legs. These baskets
are absent on carpenter bee legs.
✔✔Describe the types of wood carpenter bees most often attack. - ✔✔Carpenter bees
bore into seasoned woods, especially softwoods such as cedar, redwood, pine, and fir.
Bees may damage soft or weathered wood on porches, decks, shed ceilings, railings,
overhead trim, porch furniture, dead tree limbs, fence posts, wooden shingles, wood
siding, windowsills, and wood doors. They prefer unpainted surfaces but will attack
painted wood as well. In most cases, carpenter bees will seek out the wood from which
they developed as larvae.
✔✔How can you distinguish a carpenter bee bore hole from the exit hole of an old
house borer? - ✔✔The diameter of a carpenter bee hole is typically larger, about 1/2
WITH ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Where do drywood termites most often occur? - ✔✔In southern Florida, southern
California, and along the southern gulf coast of the United States.
✔✔Do drywood termites live entirely within wood? Why or why not? - ✔✔Yes, because
they require little moisture (wood MCs as low as 5%). Unlike subterranean termites,
drywood termites have no connection with the soil.
✔✔List several ways you can protect wood from termites. - ✔✔To protect wood from
subterranean termites, you can:
• apply insecticides to the soil around buildings, and
• avoid using wood mulches next to buildings.
To protect wood from subterranean and drywood termites, you can:
• use physical barriers on foundations, and
• use properly preserved wood, which makes it undesirable as a food source.
✔✔Describe the frass of powderpost beetles. - ✔✔Powderpost beetle frass appears as
a fine wood dust or powder. Slight jarring of infested wood can cause the frass to sift
from holes. This is a sure sign of a powderpost beetle infestation. In addition, the frass
of anobiid beetles has a distinctive hotdog bun shape.
✔✔For most wood-boring beetles, what life stage causes the most damage to wood by
boring inside the wood? - ✔✔The larvae (grub). The exception is the ambrosia beetle in
which the adult bores within the wood.
✔✔How do ambrosia beetles damage wood? - ✔✔They degrade wood by staining it, by
creating numerous entrance holes (pinholes), and by boring inside the wood.
✔✔What type of wood does each group of wood boring beetles discussed in this
manual prefer? - ✔✔Ambrosia beetles - green logs or green lumber; softwoods and
hardwoods.
,Powderpost beetles - seasoned lumber and timbers, particularly joists, sub flooring,
hardwood flooring, sill plates, and interior trim; softwoods and hardwoods.
Old house borers - seasoned wood; softwoods such as pine, spruce, and fir.
Flatheaded borers - living trees as well as recently felled and dead standing softwood
trees; rustic structures and some manufactured products.
✔✔How do powderpost beetles get their name? - ✔✔In the tunnels that they bore,
powderpost beetle larvae leave undigested wood particles called "frass." Frass usually
appears as a fine wood dust or powder. When you cut or break infested wood, the
interior reveals galleries filled with frass. Slight jarring of the wood often causes a fine
powder to sift from the holes. These are all sure signs of a powderpost beetle
infestation.
✔✔Which type of powderpost beetle prefers hardwoods? - ✔✔Lyctids.
✔✔Describe the differences in the frass produced by the three different groups of
powderpost beetles described in this manual. - ✔✔Lyctids - very fine and powdery
frass; also very abundant.
Anobiids - coarse and powdery frass; also contains distinctive fecal pellets shaped like
hotdog buns.
Bostrichids - grainy or mealy frass tightly packed in galleries.
✔✔The adult of which type of powderpost beetle has a humpbacked appearance? -
✔✔Bostrichids.
✔✔Describe the appearance of an adult old house borer. - ✔✔Adults are about 3/4 inch
long and grayish brown to black. They have two white patches on the wing covers.
✔✔Do wood-boring beetles structurally damage the wood that they infest? - ✔✔One
generation of beetle damage does not usually weaken wood. But, boring of generation
after generation can reduce the strength and integrity of wood.
✔✔What are exit holes? Why are they important to pest managers? - ✔✔An exit hole is
the location where an adult beetle has emerged from wood. Exit holes range in size and
shape depending on the species of beetle that made them. Because adult beetles are
rarely seen, exit holes are often the best and only way to identify the infesting beetle.
, ✔✔Describe the difference between the exit holes of powderpost beetles and the exit
holes of old house borers. - ✔✔Powderpost beetle exit holes are generally small (about
1/32 to 5/16 inch wide) and perfectly round. Old house borer exit holes are larger (about
1/4 to 3/8 inch wide) and irregularly shaped (often oval).
✔✔True or False: Old house borers attack only aged wood. - ✔✔False.
✔✔Do carpenter ants use wood for shelter or food? Describe the type of wood they
prefer for this purpose? - ✔✔Shelter. They generally seek soft, moist wood in which to
establish their nests. You can often find them in old stumps and other wood that has
been softened by decay. They also attack wood in service such as utility poles. In
structures, they often nest in porch columns, roofs, windowsills, hollow-core doors,
wood scraps in dirt-filled porches, and wood in contact with soil. Although carpenter
ants can extend their tunnels into dry wood, they must have high humidity in their
nesting area.
✔✔How can you distinguish the damage of carpenter ants from damage caused by
termites or wood-boring beetles? - ✔✔Carpenter ant galleries do not follow the grain
and occur in the softer portions of the wood. Carpenter ants keep their galleries smooth
and clean. You will not find mud in the galleries as you do with subterranean termites.
Nor will carpenter ant galleries contain any powdery dust or pellets like wood-borer
frass.
✔✔Do all wood preservatives protect wood from carpenter ants and carpenter bees? -
✔✔Unfortunately, some preservatives may not completely protect wood against
damage from carpenter ants or carpenter bees. Suppliers of wood treated with these
chemicals may exclude carpenter ant and carpenter bee damage from warranties that
they offer.
✔✔How can you distinguish a carpenter bee from a bumblebee? - ✔✔Carpenter bees
have shiny, black, hairless abdomens, whereas the abdomen of a bumblebee is yellow
and hairy. Bumblebees also have large pollen baskets on their hind legs. These baskets
are absent on carpenter bee legs.
✔✔Describe the types of wood carpenter bees most often attack. - ✔✔Carpenter bees
bore into seasoned woods, especially softwoods such as cedar, redwood, pine, and fir.
Bees may damage soft or weathered wood on porches, decks, shed ceilings, railings,
overhead trim, porch furniture, dead tree limbs, fence posts, wooden shingles, wood
siding, windowsills, and wood doors. They prefer unpainted surfaces but will attack
painted wood as well. In most cases, carpenter bees will seek out the wood from which
they developed as larvae.
✔✔How can you distinguish a carpenter bee bore hole from the exit hole of an old
house borer? - ✔✔The diameter of a carpenter bee hole is typically larger, about 1/2
