Bora-Care can only be applied to raw wood that has not been painted, stained or sealed. You would need to sand the wood down to the original raw state before applying.
When using Bora-care for raw wood applications, you can handle the wood for cutting and turning it into whatever you intend it to be once the wood has dried. This can often take anywhere from just a few hours, to a couple of days, based on how heavy you applied it, and how thick the wood was to provide time for full absorption.
One gallon of Bora-Care will treat approximately 100 lineal feet of 2 x 4 stud wall. You would want to make sure the product has completety dried before restacking. This can typically take up to 48 hours
Yes, Bora-Care can be applied either by spraying or painting with a brush onto the unpainted/raw wood surface.
Bora-Care is applied at a 1:1 ratio to make two gallons of solution and on average covers about 400-500 sq ft. Could you please provide the dimensions of the wood that will be treated?
Bora-Care will only penetrate through the wood that it is applied to. So if you have other wood placed on top of already treated wood you would need to treat that as well.
Bora-Care can be sprayed in a non-ventilated area but we do recommend wearing a respirator mask in that case.If there is a humidity issue already, we recommend fixing that problem first with a Dehumidifier if the situation calls for one. If there is a risk of mold, you can treat first with Bora-Care, at a 1:1 ratio, and after at least 48 hours you can treat with Bora-Care with Mold-Care, at a 5:1 ratio, to treat or prevent mold.
Bora-Care cannot be applied to the soil, only to raw wood. If you are trying to treat for subterranean termites around the perimeter of your home you can use Taurus SC in the soil. Please take a few moments to view our Subterranean Termite Treatment Guide for more information on the treatment method.
Bora-Care will not work for carpenter bees. For carpenter bee control, we recommend our Carpenter Bee Control Kit.
There are a few things that could cause Boracare to leave residue once the application has dried. One possibility is that the solution was not mixed completely before it was applied. Boracare is best mixed in a separate container such as a 5 gallon bucket and using an impeller-type mixer such as one you would use to mix paint. If Boracare is applied very heavily (to the point of runoff), then there can be excess product which the wood cannot absorb, and that could dry in a whitish finish on the surface of the wood. Next, when you have very old wood there could be little to no moisture left in the wood, and that moisture is how the Boracare penetrates through the wood. So this really would go back to just using more Boracare than the wood can absorb. Finally, if there were any kind of finish on the wood such as paint, stain, etc., then this would have to be removed completely before you could apply Boracare or other borate products.
You can use warm soapy water and a scrub brush to remove any excess product that may leave residue on the wood.
Yes, Bora-Care can be applied to the unpainted/unstained hardwood flooring.
For wood-boring insects you can use Bora-Care to treat the studs. Bora-care does not treat for rodents or for surface pests like roaches, spiders, etc. If sheetrock will be added, you can use Cimexa Dust to leave in the wall voids for other insects, using a duster like the Bellow Hand Duster. For rat control, you can use one of our rat control kits like the Protecta LP Rat Bait Stations with Fastrac Blox to place around on the outside of the structure and seal off any possible entry points.
Bora-Care will need to be used immediately after being mixed, becasue after about 24 hours the product starts to break down and lose its efficacy. You also want to be sure the product is not left overnight in a sprayer, becasue this may clog the sprayer.
We apologize but would recommend you contact the local department that handles pesticide regulations to confirm any restrictions with the maintenance staff applying the Bora-Care. This is usually your department of agriculture. You are able to apply on your own home yourself, though. The product is only available in the gallon size jug.
Bora-Care should be sprayed on all exposed sides of the raw, unfinished wood that you’re trying to protect. If will not absorb properly into adjacent wood that has not been treated.
If Boracare overspray got onto any finished surfaces, then you should be able to clean those areas with warm, soapy water to remove any residue.
Once Bora-Care has dried completely on the raw, unfinished wood, you can seal, stain or paint with whatever product you would like. There are no restrictions on what you can use once the product is dry.
While you can do the Bora-Care on the bottom 2 feet of the studs and sill plates as the walls are built, you should do a perimeter treatment as you mentioned for Subterranean termites. Since Alabama is prone to both Subterranean and Drywood termites, we would recommend trenching around the perimeter with a product like Taurus SC. You may view our Subterranean Termite Treatment Guide for more information about trenching.
