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[Luzviminda]

Hi all! I’m from Southeast Asia and planning to build an ecohouse made from bamboo. The thing is, bamboo is one of the favorite food of termites and other bugs. So you can imagine how much I would like to take precautions. I asked around but it seems the only option is to apply chemicals which as much as possibe, I would like to avoid. Is there any of you who knows how to preserve bamboo in an eco-friendly process? I would be truly grateful for any response.

 

[P.]

Hi. I don’t know where you are exactly in Southeast Asia but I’ve been to a beautiful small village in the Philippines. It’s a coastal community where houses are usually made of bamboo. Staying quite some time there let me observe their way of life and part of that is house construction. I’ve discovered that to protect bamboo from termites and other bugs, they tie cut bamboo together and soak it in the sea for few weeks or so before using it. They told me it was traditional knowledge.

If you live near the sea, there is no harm in trying it..

[Luzviminda]

This is very interesting. Natural process which is what I’ve been looking for. I don’t live near the sea but not that far either. So it’s doable. Thank you P.!

[Eco warrior]

To ensure that bugs cannot damage bamboo, I’ve learned from my parents to use the ones that are fully mature. It’s very hard, so bugs cannot penetrate. However, mature bamboo are hard to cut, heavy and usually crooked. You might therefore need several suppliers.

[Luzviminda]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge Eco warrior. I’ll see what I can do.

[Author]

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