Wood treated with Bora-Care will appear darker than normal for a few days until the chemical dries. Typically it only takes 24 - 48 hours for the product to dry and not be sticky. If it is not drying within this time frame, it usually means that too much of the product was applied to the wood. You could lightly sand the wood to remove the stickiness and then apply your finishing oil.
If you know that you have termites or carpenter ants in treated wood, then we would recommend spot treating with a non-repellent insecticide that will transfer throughout the colony, such as Fuse Foam. Fuse Foam is a ready-to-use product that has a foaming agent to help it expand and fill galleries. You would need to use the kickout holes as a guide to drill into the termite/ant gallery so that you can get at least some of the product in direct contact with the live insects. The product then works slowly enough to get transferred throughout the whole insect colony and cause collapse. If you prefer a Borate product, then we recommend the ready-to-use formulation of Boracare called Jecta. Jecta is designed for spot treatments.
Boracare should not be applied to food contact surfaces. If there were overspray on sinks, countertops, floors, etc., then you could wipe up the excess with a disposable cloth and then clean the area with warm, soapy water. To prevent contamination in the future, it is recommended to cover non-target surfaces with a tarp or drop cloth before applying Boracare indoors.
Bora-Care is too thick of a liquid to be used in any type of fogger. It can be foamed into wall voids, or sprayed or painted directly onto raw, untreated wood only. If you cannot directly access the wood that needs to be treated, foaming with Bora-Care normally is the best solution, although it will only penetrate into wood that it is directly contacting.
Yes, you can apply Bora-Care to the plywood in this area as long as the plywood has not been treated with anything else.
Yes, allowing Boracare to freeze can make it ineffective. It should be stored in a controlled temperature area out of direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. You also want to avoid applying any product in below freezing temperatures because the water part of the mixture can sparate and freeze.
There is no need to turn off the power when foaming wall voids with Bora-Care, unless you have exposed or damaged wires in the wall. For patching the holes you could do that immediately or if you have a lot of insulation you could wait 24 hrs to patch.
Yes Boracare can be used as a foam in wall voids. 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. You will mix 2 gallons of hot water with 1 gallon of Boracare. For raw, untreated wood that you're able to access, you would apply Bora-Care by itself at a 1:1 ratio.
Powderpost Beetles are a pest that can often cause residual damage long after you have treated. The Boracare application you would have completed on the wood would be correct for treating and protecting the raw wood surfaces and having it absorb into the wood. Since powder post beetles lay their eggs inside the wood and the eggs could lay dormant for up to 30 years, you may see random signs of the pest anywhere in the time frame that you have the wood. Boracare will keep any new beetles from boring into the wood and kill them through ingestion of the wood if they try, and it will kill any beetles/larvae within the wood that try to eat their way through it or out of it. Boracare works through ingestion, so wood destroying pests would have to ingest the wood to get the product in their system to die from it. This means that any signs you are seeing now are beetles that are eating their way out of the wood and ingesting the Boracare and dying from it. Since there isnt a way to know how many eggs were left in the wood there isnt a way to know how long or how often you may see these signs pop up.
You can drop cloths that have been soaked in hot water on areas where overspray occurred to lift to the residue from your Bora-Care treatment off the laminate flooring.
Yes. Bora-Care can be applied to new, green wood. Just keep in mind that the dry time may take longer than older, seasoned wood since the green wood contains more moisture than seasoned wood.
