Xylophagous and xylomicetophagous insects can cause serious deterioration of timber. The insects attacking the thirteen most traded timbers in the Valle de Aburra were identified and their presence was confirmed. Insects causing most of the damage were determined and the wood tissue most attacked was characterized. Comments on the handling and storage conditions of the wood were recorded in 27 wood industries visited and 426 wood samples were inspected. The most important and most common insects found belong to the Scolytinae and Bostrichidae subfamilies. In addition, the most attacked wood tissue was identified in 41% of the samples. Even though all species studied showed traces of damage caused by insects, insect samples were not recovered from each wood sample. In general, there were deficiencies in wood handling and storage at the visited industries, which may increase the impact of decay agents.