Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

For most pre-treatments, you will do a 5:1 ratio. You will use 1 gallon of Bora-Care to 5 gallons of hot water.

For framed wood surfaces above ground, apply a 1:1 solution. Treat remainder of structural wood in a 5:1 solution. Concentrate application in areas susceptible to attack, to include all sills, plates, floor joists, piers, girders and subfloors. Treat all exterior wood including siding, facias, soffits, eaves, roofing, porches, decks and railing. If Bora-Care is the sole preventative treatment for subterranean termites, a 1:1 solution must be used.

Buildings on crawl spaces and basements (preventative and pretreatment) – Use a 1:1 solution and apply in a 2 foot uninterrupted band to all structural wood surfaces in crawl spaces and basements. To prevent termite shelter tubes on crawlspace walls, apply to concrete or block walls in a 2 foot band up from the ground on interior wall surfaces. Apply at the rate of one gallon to 400 square feet of surface area.

Boracare is the best treatment option for any type of wood destroying insect including powder post beetles. However, no matter how new or old the wood is Boracare can only be used on wood in its raw natural state. If the wood has any type of stain or finish on them you would need to either sand it off and apply Boracare and re-stain it, or drill holes periodically through the areas where you have activity and inject Boracare into the center of the wood. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

If more than one application Boracare is applied it can leave a crystal white type residue. Please allow 72 hours for it to dry. If you need to you can paint or sand over the furniture after the Boracare has soaked in. It should not leave a sticky residue. 

Boracare takes care of any active infestation of wood-destroying insects such as termites, carpenter ants, powderpost beetles, etc. It is possible for the wood to become infested again if it has been exposed to water, if the wood wasn't treated in any way, like if it wasn't stained, after the Boracare treatment dried or if not all exposed sides were treated. 

Although, from the information you provided regarding the termite tunnels, if you're talking about mud tunnels then you are dealing with Subterranean termites. Boracare will still affect them if the eat the wood but the method of treatment to get rid of the colony will be to do a trench treatment around the Perimeter of your home with Termidor. Termidor can't be used indoors unless it's sprayed/foamed inside an enclosed wall void.

If you are sure, however, that you are dealing with Drywood termites, we recommend that you call Nisus (800) 264-0870 to troubleshoot with them as they are the makers of Boracare.

When using Boracare to treat for an active infestation of wood fungus it is applied at a 1:1 ratio for wood that is 4" thick or greater. Use a 3:1 dilution ratio for wood less than 4" in thickness.  You can spot treat the areas that have active fungus and then use the 5:1 for future prevention in the non effected areas.  You should be sure to address the moisture issue in the area before or during treatment of Boracare and apply a vapor barrier after the product has dried. Please see the product label for complete application instructions.

Bora-Care is a wood specific wood treatment product that will last for the life of the wood when applied correctly.  You would not have to reapply the product on any wood that you treated originally.  This is what makes Bora-Care the best selling wood treatment product on the market.

Typically, one gallon of Bora-Care will treat up to 500 square feet of flooring when mixed 1:1 (1 gallon of Bora-Care mixed with 1 gallon water).

Bora-Care is a great product to treat your crawl space with, however if these are live subterranean termites then Bora-Care may not be the best option.  Termidor can be used inside the house as a spot treatment and in the ground.  Termidor and Bora-Care are for two different treatments.  Termidor is meant for the soil, but can be used on wood as a spot treatment.  The main benefit of Termidor is that the termites will take it back to the colony under the ground and kill the colony at the source.  Bora-Care is a wood treatment product only, but it will not take care of the termite colony below the soil; it will only kill the termites that are in the wood.  So, you treat with Bora-Care later down the road in your crawl space since that wood is exposed and easy to get to, but you would want to wait until after you have treated this termite colony with Termidor, since Termidor will kill the termites at the source.  You should follow the instructions in our How To Do A Termite Treatment article paying close attention to the section about drilling holes, which is what is required on a patio.  You can also inject Termidor into the wall void by drilling a hole from the inside where you think they are.  You just have to touch a few termites with the Termidor for it to work.  Termidor can take up to 90 days to kill the entire colony depending on the colonies size. 

Bora-Care would be the best product to use for the termites and the dry rot.  Bora-Care, as well as Timbor which is made from the same company, can only be applied to raw wood.  It can not be applied to any wood that is painted, stained, or sealed.  You do not have to remove the wood, but you would need to sand the finish off of the side you are going to re-treat.  Bora-Care is better than Timbor because it dries clear whereas Timbor leaves a white residue.  Also, Bora-Care penetrates into the wood deeper ensuring you get to all of the termites and insects in the wood.  Termidor will not penetrate through wood at all, so Bora-Care is the preferred method for treating drywood termites.

What you are describing does sound like powder post beetles. You can get rid of them by using a product such as Boracare but this will require you to strip the piece of furniture to get rid of any paint, stain or finish (Boracare will not work on finished 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. If it is just one piece of furniture that is infested and you do not want to strip off the finish you can also contact local furniture finishers or pest control operators who may offer a heat chamber. Heating the sideboard up to over 140 degrees for several hours will any pest that is inside.

Foaming is the preferred method when treating voids. To foam a product you need a poly foamer to apply the foam and our ProFoam Foaming Concentrate which is an expanding liquid you need to mix with the solution.  You would mix the Bora-Care with water in a one gallon poly foamer, then pour in the foaming agent, then mix it all together and pump up the poly foamer.  You are now ready to foam voids.

You should drill whatever size hole you need based on what you have available to inject the Bora-care with.  Typically if you have an injection piece of equipment, 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch holes are used.  Please see this technical bulletin from the manufacturers of Bora-Care that explains about drilling and injecting into wood.  See page 5 and it will give specifics about the drill pattern, etc. 

Bora-Care Remedial Technical Bulletin

Yes, you can apply Bora-Care to pressure treated wood as long as there is not any kind of paint, stain, or water sealant already on the wood. Be sure you apply Boracare at a 1:1 diluation ratio with water for active insect infestations. You should then apply a water sealant to the wood after the Boracare has dried for best results.

You can apply Boracare to the wood at any of the stages described. You can paint it, spray it, or foam it on the raw dead wood.

Bora-Care is a very safe product and it is considered a green product as well.  Typically, it takes about an hour for the surface of the wood to dry.  After the application has dried completely, it should be perfectly fine for children and pets to re-enter the house.  Bora-Care is a wood treatment product only and should have no effect on concrete.  If you are looking for peace-of-mind and protection when applying professional pest control products, then the Basic Safety Kit is for you

In most cases you can completely skip using the Timbor and just use the Boracare with Moldcare. Do you have current termite activity?

We do recommend that you treat both sides of the lumber with the Bora-Care and that you leave it unstacked for at least 72 hours to allow it to dry for best results.

Boracare is the best wood treatment product on the market. It can be used at a 5:1 ratio for preventative treatment and will last for the life of the wood. 

The interior wood pieces that are exposed will have to be stripped prior to the application if they are painted or stained. The manufacturer has told us that Boracare is not corrosive and it should not harm the interior of the fiberglass that touches the wood. For more information you may want to contact Nisus directly by calling 800-264-0870

Boracare would work great as a pre treatment for wood you are using. To pre treat the soil you are laying the foundation on, we recommend using Termidor SC. You want to dilute .8 fl oz Termidor per gallon water. Apply one gallon diluted solution per 10 sq feet.