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I live in the Deep South not far from Florida. I had a grand piano with wood damage from some kind of bug or worm. This is the second piano in which I've seen this. The first had eaten much of the keyed and even a couple of the keys. This piano also had some of the keyed eaten as well as a fairly large what appears to be an entry hole above the left leg. It leaves behind very fine stuff the consistency of fine sand. The client had he piano in storage as few years. It doesn't appear to be wood bees, carpenter ants, or termites. Both pianos came from Florida. I've never seen this when I lived further north. You southern folks want to chime in?

I was in an old church several years in which termites had destroyed almost the entire pin block

I've never seen anything like that here in New England.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Powderpost beetles? It seems to fit the geographical distribution, powdery sawdust, and exit holes.

I believe you are correct. I only hope they are not still in her piano. My 10 year old grandson told he wants to learn something new every day. I've learned something today. Thanks

I have built furniture out with beetle infestation. They are very difficult to eliminate. Heat will kill them as when wood is kiln dried but otherwise tough. I would do some research on woodworking sites to see if there are recommendations.

I had powder post beetles in an old house I owned, sounds like what you describe. The eradication option I chose was to use a borate containing compound (like Borax) on the bare wood, which was the floor joists in the basement in my case. It's pretty harmless stuff so easy/safe to use if the wood isn't finished. They also make it in capsules that you can embed in the wood for ongoing treatment, and it comes in a powder that you can sprinkle on surfaces so the bugs walk through it and then ingest it when they groom. The other options which I didn't pursue were extreme heat or cold, or bag the house and use a chemical gas that I can't remember what it was. I didn't have any problem getting rid of them with borax and I also put a dehumidifier in the basement, it helps to reduce the humidity level. They only lay their eggs on bare wood, which is a problem for a piano because there's quite a few internal places they can get a foothold. Subzero temps for 2 days will kill all of their life cycles, so if you didn't live in Georgia you could move the piano outside in subzero weather for a few days and you'd be sure of killing them.

We have powder post beetles here in Washington State. They can get in pianos via an unfinished surface.