Termites!

[Paul S. Larudee]

BobDavis88@AOL.COM wrote:
> 
> Hi folks,
> Got a call today from a lady who had a most unfortunate infestation of
> termites (in her relatively young house) which came up through the floor &
> carpet & into the piano. She and her husband removed the piano to the garage
> and the exterminators are coming next Wednesday. What she wants to know is,
> are there any anti-termite products that are harmful/not harmful to a piano?
> She doesn't want guesses - does anyone out there have some experience with
> this?
> Thanks,
> Bob Davis
> Stockton, CA

At least half the pianos in Cuba are infested with termites because of a
tropical species called the comagen, which is highly mobile and
virulent.  They have one of the world's top experts who is doing
research on precisely the issue of treating termite damage in pianos. 
Her name is Dr. Raquel Carreras and the e-mail address I have for her is
(if you can believe it):
fax!ceniai.inf.cu!comuh.uh.cu!comuh!comuh.uh.cu!jagamboa@mail-gw5.pacbell.net.
The last time I was there she was trying a borax solution, but the only
sure and safe method I know is to hermetically enclose the piano in
plastic and pump in carbon monoxide, thus suffocating the bastards. 
Once gone, ground chili pepper liberally sprinkled seems to be the
remedy of choice to keep them away.

As far as repairing the damage is concerned, you have the option of
replacing parts or using some type of filler/reinforcer in the damaged
areas.  It's always easier to do this when the parts are disassembled. 
Dr. Carreras was doing research on appropriate filler material which
would preserve the characteristics of the original wood (acoustics,
strength, weight, flexibility, etc.).  Low viscosity C-A glue and epoxy
were mentioned, but I can't give you any particular recommendations.

Good luck.

Paul S. Larudee, RPT
Richmond, CA