Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

Yes, after the Bora-Care has dried, you can sand and finish the wood. It usually takes 24-48 hours to fully dry. Nothing harmful is released into the air in doing so.

Yes, Bora-Care will work on pressure treated wood. Bora-Care will become a second layer of protection and it might make the wood look aged but it will work.

No, Boracare will not affect any glue adhesions. However, if you use Boracare over an area where there is glue, it will not soak into the wood.

There is only one available now, the regular Bora-Care. Per the manufacturer, Bora-Care commercial was for a special legal circumstance only in Florida with respect to labeling. It has been discontinued, and is the same product as regular Bora-Care.

You would indeed remove all food products from the cabinet. You would need to apply the Boracare to the raw wood, let it dry for at least 48 hours and then seal the wood with stain, paint, etc. After that has been completed you can put food products back in the cabinet.

Bora-Care cannot be used on trees or plants.  It is for cut lumber only.  Borates will kill any living plant, shrub, grass or tree.  Termites do not attack live, healthy trees.  If you have termites in a tree you would need to treat the nest directly by drilling holes into the dead parts of the tree where the colony is infesting.  This can be done with something like Dominion 2L or a foam like Termidor Foam.

Boracare should not leave any kind of visible residue once it has dried.  If you are seeing spots that look shiny, this is usually because these areas have not yet fully dried.  In most cases, it takes 24-48 hours for a Boracare application to dry thoroughly. 

It was Boracare that you purchased before, and provided that you used that correctly when applying and sealed it within 90 days of applications it will take care of the powderpost beetles that are present now. They have to feed on the wood in order to ingest the Boracare at this time to kill them. 

The manufacturer has told us that Boracare is not corrosive but of course should not be sprayed onto exposed electrical wiring of any sort.

Yes, after Bora-Care is applied and it dries, you can paint or use a stain on the wood.

No, you would not mix Bora-Care with Termidor SC for a single application.  Bora-Care is a wood treatment product that is great for drywood termites.  Termidor SC  is made to adhere to soil and is poured in a 6-inch deep trench that is dug around the foundation of the home.  So depending on which type of termite you have will determine which product would be best for you.  

Subterranean Termite Treatment Guide

Drywood Termite Identification Guide

In order to use Bora-Care on your table, you would have to make sure the wood is bare or stripped. Bora-Care cannot penetrate into sealed or finished wood. After wood has been treated with Bora-Care, you can paint, stain or seal the wood with no problems.

One gallon of Bora-Care will treat approximately 100 lineal feet of 2 x 4 stud wall. This includes sill plate and header. For other dimensional lumber, logs, or siding and plywood, please see the product label or the supplemental tech bulletin. Typically, one gallon of concentrate Bora-Care will treat 800 square feet of a 2x4 stud wall, and 500 square feet of a crawl space or attic.

Per Boracare's label you need to allow the first application to dry by waiting at least 20 minutes in between applications. For some applications, like when treating for Subterranean or Formosan termites, you may need to wait at least an hour between applications.

Without treating the surface with a sealant, paint or stain after applying Boracare, the product will evaporate out the surface within a couple months. We would recommend doing a complete reapplication of your decking with Boracare and followed by a surface finish. It is important to seal your treatment of Boracare within 1 month with a sealant, paint, or stain to ensure the Boracare is locked into the wood. You will need to reapply the sealant or paint per the product label you choose.

BoraCare is relatively safe product to use as long as the Product Label is followed. The active ingredient in Boracare is an inorganic salt. The BoraCare product label recommends that users wear goggles, gloves, long sleeve shirts, long pants, shocks, and shoes. If you will be performing the appliction in an area that is NOT well ventilated such as an attaic or crawlspace then a respirator mask would be recommended. As for the effects of the odor/fumes or eye contact, we would recommend you contact Nisus, the manufacturer at 800-264-0870.

Yes the Boracare will absorb all the way into the wood and eliminate any infestation that is there and last for the life of the wood.  Boracare is the only insecticide that can penetrate into the wood to kill the immature beetles before they chew their way out of the wood and damage the furniture.

You should use the Boracare first followed by the Boracare with Mold care solution.

We ALWAYS recommend using a 1:1 ratio  with Boracare because of 2 reasons.  First of all, a 1:1 ratio is the strongest ratio and will ensure complete penetration through the wood and it will protect longer in the wood than any other ratio.  Second, even though you are using new wood, or store bought raw wood, it can still contain beetles and other insects from the mill.  Applying a 1:1 ratio ensures that if there are any issues whatsoever, they are taken care of before they become a problem.

Anytime you are treating exterior wood you should always use Bora-Care.  It will last longer in the wood than Timbor.  Also, when treating new wood with timbor it can leave a powdery residue because it is a powder.  Bora-Care dries clear and will look better after finishing the wood with the stain.  Since you have a rare opportunity to treat your new siding you should treat with the best, and Bora-care is the best.  When treating plywood that is close to 3/4" thick, you should apply at a rate of one gallon of Bora-Care to one gallon of water.  This will make two finished gallons.  These two finished gallons should treat 1066 square feet of siding.  Once you have applied the Bora-Care you should wait at least 48 hours for it to dry before applying any type of stain or sealant.