It appears that gasoline with alcohol may attract them, so eliminating the alcohol may help.

CAMPHOR SHOOT BORER SPRAY | BUGSPRAY.COM

I have camphor borers targeting my gas tanks at my dock. Also got into the fuel line for my boat. Never heard of them but the local coop told me what they

bugspray.com

 

wow i would have guessed it was mice or vole's or another rodent...
soooo.
what is to stop them from eating on car plastics?
fuel tanks, injection lines, def lines etc....
almost every thing is some sort of plastic these days.....

a couple of questions...
those gasoline jugs had mold on the outside.... and looked old...
so do they eat on new plastics as well??


keep the plastics clean and free from trash...
or could you coat the outside of the plastics with oils grease or silicone?
a study on what they will not chew on would be good for sure!

 

They dont care if the plastic is clean or molded. If they smell the ethanol and start eating into the plastic, drilling little holes. Getting rid of the ethanol I am sure will help a lot. But that is effort. You can pour in some water, shake, and let the gas sit, then have pure gas of a slightly lower octane.
Thing is, at what level of ethanol do they no longer feel attracted to fuel tanks? They may be super smellers, I dont know how long it would take to dissipate the scent sufficiently, it may take years.

I will take a pic and show you holes

 

pics of one tank, peppered with holes, all my tanks get like this. Some weep gas out, some do not. Red gas cans, black tanks, thick rubber fuel hoses riddled with holes, clean cans, dirty can, makes no difference. I live in Newport News, VA, near Ft. Eustis.

 

pics of one tank, peppered with holes, all my tanks get like this. Some weep gas out, some do not. Red gas cans, black tanks, thick rubber fuel hoses riddled with holes, clean cans, dirty can, makes no difference. I live in Newport News, VA, near Ft. Eustis.

Take me by surprise or what! Another one who's not heard or seen this. Wow. As if dealing with year round rodents isnt enough of a chore, something else for me to keep an eye out for.
Great work/fix with the tin tape!

 

We are rural, and I've noticed that if something doesn't get much activity, a critter particular to that something will make an appearance.

If a car sits too long without being started/driven, mice will move in to the engine compartment ... nests get built, wiring gets chewed. If it's driven every day, no critters ...

Perhaps w/ these beatles, the same effect occurs ... plastic gas cans, atv's ... keep them moving somehow? Gennies ... start every day?

 

It is just a mostly mindless bug running on instinct.
The super bad eaten tank is from my 6500 watt Max Force Generac.

Today I welded up all the holes. I cut up a black HDPE from an AZ gear oil qt for a filler rod.
Testing will be when the coming storm passes. Maybe will get snow from 1 to 3 inches, and temp will drop into the teens on Sunday.

I may have to try the add water to gas way to get rid of the ethanol.
These gens sit around a long time between use, they are only for when the power goes out. Really I should remove the tanks, empty them and dry the carbs thoroughly after use. My Troy Built 8000 watt, the SS carb needle corroded the carb so bad, it was a chore to get unstuck, What finally did it was soaking for half day in vinegar, then a hammer and punch to hit the aluminum casting around the needle, again and again. It got a tiny bit loose, so light plier twisting made it come out. I then polished the bore using stove top cleaner on a Qtip, and a a dremel to spin it in the bore. I had drained the tank, ran it dry, and choked it to suck the last bit out, but that was not enough to stop the corrosion. Put it together, and it started on second pull.

Other thing I am doing is adding some 2 stroke oil to the gas, it does not smoke, and when the gas evaporates the oil should still sit on the carb parts.

 

The subject of water and ethanol laced gasoline has come up many times before in the boating world where the 2 come together on a regular basis. Ethanol attracts water. When the 2 combine they are heavier than the fuel and both drop to the bottom of the tank. Shaking the fuel will not recombine it with the ethanol. They will re-separate rapidly. Since ethanol is used to increase the octane rating, once it separates, the remaining fuel is very low octane and can cause detonation in many circumstances. The water/ethanol combo that falls to the bottom is a slimy gunk that's not good for anything. It causes corrosion, plugs small fuel passages and eats non-ethanol rated fuel lines. Probably one of the worst ideas ever from a maintenance prospective.

Mixing 2-stroke oil into my winter storage fuel (100LL aviation fuel) has been part of my boat winterization process for many years and it does seem to help the rubber seals in the fuel system from drying out and cracking. It also coats various internal eng parts to help prevent corrosion during extended periods of none usage.

This is the first I've heard of plastic eating bugs. Haven't seen any evidence of them here yet (central TX). Maybe the fire ants already killed them off??

 

so make a trap for the bugs with ethanol.
glass jar, steel lid.
holes in lid
maybe a bit of cotton inside.

hey will dawn dish soap kill the bugs?
soap and water mix in the jar...

it would be cool to do a controlled study on this...
you might seek out help from the collages in the area.
they love this kinda of stuff for the kids as projects!

 

Metal jerry cans or using non-ethanol fuel can be viable alternatives.

But for plastic gas tanks and fuel lines, maybe a spray repellant or insecticide might help?

 

maybe a spray repellant or insecticide might help

A link to a repellent is in post #2

 

😧 Wow, first time hearing about these beetles. That’s wild. The suggestion to bait and trap sounds like a good idea. Get them before they get you (your fuel containers.) Plastic welding appears to be the perfect solution.

Are these bugs actually drinking the gasoline?!

 

No, the gas vapors end up killing them. the holes that penetrate the tank, some have little black beetles siting in them. I was able to stick a pin through many holes, so I think they drilled and drilled and then got wasted by the fumes. About 20% of the holes were only surface or half finished.

Plastic welding with a solder gun is really the only solution, no glue will fix HDPE.

I dont know if baiting and trapping will make much difference, there are so many of these beetles around, all it might do is attract more to your place. they are attracted to ethanol, ethanol evaporates pretty quick, the trap might be a waste of ethanol.
These bugs have super sensitive sensors, they can smell the ethanol coming from a diseased tree or bush, I cant do that. They are designed that way so they can drill into trees and bushes and reproduce themselves.

I was wondering about covering the tanks with an overlapping layer of aluminum duct tape. I doubt they can eat through metal. Can also wrap fuel lines in metal tape. Still think they will find a way near the fill cap, or the valve.
The tank I fixed had 5 holes on the bottom, most of the holes are on the sides and top. There was only a gallon of gas sitting in the tank, so it must be vapors leaching through the plastic that they can smell, otherwise wouldn't the tank bottom also be peppered with holes?

You know it only takes one hole to create a flash point dangerous situation.

Around the tank cap, right at the fill neck were 6 holes drilled evenly spaced in a circle.

 

This indicates they're in the SW, wonder if they'll migrate north?

Camphor Shot Borer (Cnestus mutilatus)

Have you noticed tiny holes in your plastic fuel containers? You may not consider this damage could be due to an insect, but the residents of Florida’s panhandle have to contend with the ethanol-loving camphor shot borer, Cnestus mutilatus. Camphor shot borers are invasive ambrosia beetles from...

blogs.ifas.ufl.edu

 

hummm
they might eat through the seals on a metal fuel tank...
like at the cap or tank vent rubber....

yea what kills them other than heat???

 

so do they attack the low vapor marine hose and tanks?

 

If that stops the vapor from being sniffed by them, yes.
None of my cars fuel tanks have any attacks, the plastic on them is much thicker, and the lines are that black nylon or SS.

 

Also be on a lookout for a crazy man with a cordless drill.

All seriousness, for almost half a century I've been on this earth, I had no idea these insects exist.

 

Also be on a lookout for a crazy man with a cordless drill.

All seriousness, for almost half a century I've been on this earth, I had no idea these insects exist.

They came from Asia as an invasive species recently. We are surrounded by many millions of little creatures and never aware of them except when they cause us trouble.

Now the forests here are losing all the native Ash trees to the Emerald Ash borer, also invaded from Asia. They kill every single one.

 

Do you think it would look weird if I covered the tank in aluminum duct tape?
Could be wrapped like a mummy around the tank. That tape easily conforms to various odd shapes. If the shine was a bother, could then paint it black, whatever.

The bugs did not eat thru the 2 large vinyl stickers on the tank top.

 

I did not know these things existed either. Sigh. I'm in Cleveland so it sounds like I should upgrade to the nicer metal cans. I only need 1 or 2 for lawn equipment. My generator is all propane now.

 

Beating a dead horse, but something else to blame "mystery gas" (ethanol) for.

 

'the distribution of the species will continue to expand in North America'
They are coming for your tanks, you can count on it, so get ready for them to be attacked.
Maybe the new EPA standards for gas cans will help. Supposed to be less permeable to fuel vapor. There are so many fuel systems that will be attacked, this fuel can drilling bug is spreading fast.
Emptying - draining the gas tank-can is not going to help, they come after tanks and rubber fuel lines due to the vapors. So storing inside might be a help, and that may be dangerous due to fuel vapors in enclosed spaces. I think tanks-cans are just going to have to be armored against attacks.
Bug sprays will wash off, people wont remember to keep spraying their cans.

Cnestus mutilatus, Camphor Shot Borer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (lsuagcenter.com)
Ecological Significance and Pest Status
The camphor shot borer was introduced from its native range in Asia, where it is reported to be a pest of forest trees. It was first documented in North America based on specimens captured in Mississippi. The species was first documented in Louisiana during 2009. They can now be found throughout the eastern half of the United States as far north as Pennsylvania. They do not appear to pose a direct threat to native trees, mainly because of their preference for smaller branches. However, they have an unfortunate and unique way of creating problems. They are strongly attracted to vapors given off by gasoline, possibly because of the high ethanol content of modern formulations. Ethanol is commonly released by stressed and dying trees and serves as a powerful attractant for insects, such as the camphor shot borer, that attack stressed tress. This has resulted in an alternative common name for the species, gasoline beetles, for their habit of boring into gasoline tanks and hoses by mistake. Mysterious, BB-sized holes began appearing in plastic gasoline containers and fuel lines of small engines shortly after the discovery of camphor shot borers in Louisiana. Close inspection revealed that many of these holes were plugged by the dead bodies of the female beetles. Such incidents create fire and environmental hazards because of leakage of fuel, often only discovered during fuel transfers. At least one case of near stranding in the Gulf of Mexico was reported from Florida after beetles bored holes through marine fuel lines.
Climatic modeling suggests that the distribution of the species will continue to expand in North America because of climate change and wide availability of hosts, so they and other Asian species of ambrosia beetles are likely to pose a continuing threat into the future.

 

Sorry if this sounds selfish but I have to ask. If I've never run gas in my generators does that mean I'm safe?

 

Sounds reasonable, if you have a virgin generator that hasn’t touched ethanol….

For the first time ever I currently have only E0 gas on hand and in all my machines and tanks. Hope that’s good enough lol.

 

Covering the tank in aluminum tape. But I ran out.

It goes on good and it conforms to the odd shape. I was reading these bugs do not like WHITE, this aluminum should dazzle their little bug eyes.

 

Well, I know who I'm getting to wrap my Christmas presents next year

 

Looks fit for space, if the tape had the gold foil it would look straight out of nasa.

That foil tape is great stuff. I use it often.

 

That should stand up well to re-entry.

I'd be careful to not make any gas spills/splashes. I don't know of any adhesive that can withstand gasoline... and that includes aluminum tape adhesives. You could end up with a sticky, mushy mess on the tank as the spilled gas goes under the tape and melts the adhesive.

 

I dont really know what any of you would do if you were facing devastating beetle attacks, they start in March and go thru June here at least
The glue may lift in a few places near the fill, but not all will and tape is cheap.

 

No the tape is fine. Just saying to keep spillage to a minimum or clean it up immediately.