Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

The only way to get Bora-Care into the wood is to either tear off the sheet rock or drill holes through the drywall into the wood directly. When drilling holes into a stud, you have to drill them every 6 inches apart and drill the hole into the center of the wood at a downward angle so when you fill the hole with Bora-Care it does not run out.  The wood will soak up the Bora-Care once you inject it.  The key to treating drywood termites is that you have to get the product into the void exactly where the termites are.

Boracare is labeled to be applied with a paint brush. 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4 mixture ratios must be used within 24 hours to prevent the product from degrading. A 1:5 mixture ratio can remain stable for up to 30 days. You should do your best to only mix enough solution for the job you are doing that day to prevent having to discard any solution. Any unused solution can be dumped out right up against the foundation of the structure taking care not to get it on plants.

Boracare is not labeled for carpenter bee control as the boracare must be ingested to affect the insect. Carpenter bees only tear away at the wood, they dont eat it like termites do so they normally will not be affected. Carpenter bees are normally less attracted to treated wood but even after sealing the wood, you could use a residual spray like Cyonara 9.7 to spray across the deck to kill them just from landing on the treated surface. The Boracare however is THE product to use on wood for life long control of wood destroying insects like termites and carpenter ants as well as wood destroying fungus. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Boracare works by ingestion. Boracare will not be carried back to the colony. You can inject a product with a transfer effect such as Premise Foam directly into the wood to kill the existing termites and also the termites back at the colony. After 90 days you can then treat the wood with Boracare to protect it from future infestations.

No, it does not sound right.  The only way to properly protect all wood under the crawl space is to remove the insulation, treat all exposed wood, and then put the insulation back.  Fungus is not your only issue in a crawl space.  There is also usually the threat of termites and powder post beetles as well.  If i was taking the time to treat under the crawl space, if it were me, i would take the extra time and make sure it was all treated adequately.

If you see droppings then there are "kick out"holes which you should be able to find on the wood where the termites that are inside the wood are kicking out their pellets onto the floor.  This will help you zero in on the wood that you are treating. 

Both Termidor SC (fipronil for termites) and Bora-Care will work, but Bora-Care is typically the better one to use for this situation.  Termidor is not a wood treatment product, so for it to work you have to drill holes EXACTLY where the termites are and it has to touch the termites to work.  If you miss where they are, it will not work.  Also, Termidor does not really have any residual in the wood, so after you treat inside the wood with Termidor and it dries, that wood is exposed for future termite and beetle infestations.

Termidor: http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html

Bora-Care is usually the preferred choice if most of the wood is exposed and it is raw wood you are treating, meaning it is not painted, stained, or sealed, it is just normal wood.  Bora-Care is made only for wood, and you do not have to know exactly where the termites are for it to work which is a plus.  Bora-Care is sprayed evenly over all exposed surfaces of the wood and actually penetrates through the entire piece of wood.  When the termites in the wood try to consume the wood after it has been treated, they ingest the Bora-Care with the wood and die.  No matter where they are in the wood the Bora-Care will find them as long as you treated the exposed wood that you can see.  The other main benefit is that Bora-Care stays in the wood forever, so you will not have to worry about termites or beetles infesting the wood that you treated ever again.

Bora-Care:  http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/boracare-p-100.html

We really recommend to allow Boracare to dry for 72 hours after application. After 72 hours you can sand, saw, whatever you would like to do with the wood.

Most of our customers that have tried using paint guns, or similar small attachments, end up clogging the nozzles because of the thickness of Bora-Care.  Most people just use a standard sprayer, turning the nozzle to a pin stream, and inject it that way.

Any left over Bora-Care can not be stored. Bora-Care that is left for more than a few hours after it has been diluted will start to separate from the water and will be impossible to get back into a proper diluted form. You should dump any extra mixture right up against the foundation of your house (away from any plants as borates will kill plants). Be sure to thoroughly rinse your sprayer to avoid leaving any Bora-Care residue that can potentially clog the nozzle or hose.

You can foam Boracare into the wall voids. The insulation may soak up a bit of the applications but here is how the pros handle it:

You will need to use a stud finder to locate each stud. You should then drill a hole at the top of the wall on either side of each stud and you should drill a second set of holes at the bottom of the wall on either side of each stud. You will apply the foam using the top holes and you will know the foam has successfully coated the wood when it comes out of the bottom holes on either side of the studs.

Boracare can create a crystal-like residue if heavily applied. You can wipe the residue away with water and soap. 

Bora-Care will take at least 30 days usually to diffuse through the entire piece of wood.  This of course depends on the thickness and moisture content of the wood.  It starts to work as soon as it begins to penetrate the wood it is applied to.  You may continue to see activity in wood that has a prior infestation as Boracare works by ingestion so will only kill the insects that are actively eating the wood and ingest the product.  If there are dormant beetles that are not active, but become active later, let's say next year, you could see new activity at that time, but they will die once they start eating since Bora-Care stays in the wood forever.  It is common to see activity at a later date since beetles are not all active at the same time.

Bora-Care will take up to 30 days or more to penetrate all the way through the wood and eliminate a drywood termite colony in the wood.

Boracare is not restricted to Hawaii. We can ship to you!  

We have spoken with the manufacturer of Bora-Care, Nisus, and they have stated that there is no problem with aluminum or any other metals with a Bora-Care application.  There have been over 1.5 million houses treated over the past 15 years with no reported adverse effects and we have also done direct corrosion studies with Bora-Care and aluminum that show no corrosion.

Depending on where you are applying Boracare, we would recommend using a respirator mask. We would also recommend leaving the area until the product has had time to dry. Generally, this could take 4-5 hours depending on the amount of product that was applied.

Just so you know, Bora-Care will not kill, treat, or prevent mold growth. It only works for fungus or wood destroying insects, not mold.  Only Bora-Care with Mold Care will treat and kill and prevent mold.  Bora-Care will take at least 30 days usually to diffuse through the entire piece of wood.  This of course depends on the thickness and moisture content of the wood.  The outer layer though usually dries within 24 hours or at least is OK after 24 hours to treat again or apply a stain or sealant to the wood. 

Bora-Care is the best product to use for termites in wall voids.  If you are foaming for termites, then you should not be concerned about foaming an entire wall void.  You should only be concerned about getting the foam near the wood and studs.  Typically when a company foams walls, they drill holes at the top of the ceiling on either side of the studs and foam down the stud from the ceiling.  This way you have gravity working in your favor and you are getting the foam against the wood which is all that matters.  You will need a foaming agent and a poly foamer to perform the treatment in addition to the Bora-Care.

If the beam is raw wood, you can treat all 4 sides using Boracare at 1:1 ratio. Boracare will penetrate into the wood and will kill active Powder post beetles. 

The mixing ratio of Boracare depends on if you have a current wood boring pest you are treating. If you do, we recommend mixing at a 1:1 ratio. If you are using Boracare as a preventative you can mix at a 1:5 ratio.