No, Boracare is not labeled for carpenter bees.
For carpenter bees, we would recommend using our Carpenter Bee Kit. It has everything inside of it to do a complete treatment for bees.
Please also check out our Carpenter Bee Guide for wonderful tips on how to treat and prevent them in the future.
Boracare will not be absorbed into wood that is stained or treated. If the wood is stripped down to the bare, exposed wood, then you could apply Boracare before re-painting or re-staining the wood. If this is not possible, then you may want to consider having a local pest control company fumigating the piece of furniture to kill any existing insects in it.
No Bora-Care, like any other borate product, 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 infested. This can be done with something like Dominion 2L. Most people are primarily concerned with protecting the big investment, their home, and Dominion or or Termidor would be the best product to use for that. Termidor is the top product and can last 10 years in the soil, whereas Dominion will only last 5-7 years. It is only labeled to be used adjacent to the structure, though.
We sell the product Boracare and are happy to assist you with ordering and using that product. We are unable to offer advice on how to create or manufacture chemicals.
We understand that the Boracare label can be tricky to follow. The text is referring to a gallon of undiluted solution, which makes 2 gallons of finished solution, while the chart is referring to diluted solution. So, one gallon of concentrate makes 2 gallons of finished solution when diluted at a 1:1 ratio, and that total amount of 2 gallons of finished solution covers 1,600 square feet (800 per gallon of dilution).
Bora-Care will penetrate through the wood and kill any insect eating the wood no matter where they are in the wood. However, it can only be applied to raw wood so you would need to apply it to the side that is not painted. It cannot be applied to wood that is painted, stained, or sealed. If your wood is painted, stained, or sealed, then you will need to drill holes and inject Bora-Care or sand the finish off of the wood, treat with Bora-Care, and then refinish the wood
Boracare is a very viscous liquid that needs to be thoroughly mixed with warm -hot water and thinned out before application. The label states that it can be applied by sprayer or by painting or rolling the product on but we are not sure that submerging the wood in the solution will be a proper application as it should only be applied until wet and not to the point of run off or oversaturation.
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your business! You may still be able to use Boracare as you have described, depending on the rate at which you mix it. 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. We are not aware of another product that can be saved for later use once it has been mixed into solution. After that point most products will start to not only break down and be less effective.
Boracare cannot be used in misting equipment but could be used in foaming equipment, and we carry a few types. The Foamer Simpson or Chapin Poly Foamer would be able to be used along with a foaming concentrate like the ProFoam. Once foamed it will only penetrate the wood that it touches, so be sure applications are made directly in areas that contact infested wood or wood you are wanting to protect. If foaming wall voids would not contact the wood you need to treat you will need to drill into the wood and inject following the instructions on the product label.
Bora-Care can be applied in any temperature as long as it is not below freezing. However, the warmer the temperature the easier it will be to mix and apply the Bora-Care because of its thick consistency.
Bora-Care should only be applied to raw, natural wood. For more information on treating for powderpost beetles, please take a few moments to review our treatment article for successful eradication.
Bora-Care should only be applied to raw wood. It will not penetrate through any wood that has been pre-treated. Polyurethane is equivalent to applying paint, so the best process would indeed to be strip the finish and apply Boracare as this is the only product that will penetrate through the wood and eliminate the existing infestation and prevent future infestations.
The insulation should be removed so that the Bora-Care can be applied directly to the wood. It is safe to place back once surfaces treated are completely dry. You can foam Bora-Care 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.
No, Boracare will not affect the romex wiring when applied to raw wood. The rate is 1:1 for an active infestation.
Bora-Care can be mixed with an impeller-type mixer that would be used with an electric drill.
Yes, the logs should be dry before applying Bora-Care.
It is best to apply Bora-Care to wood that is free from dust or other debris.
Bora-Care should only be applied to raw wood that does NOT contain epoxy, sealants, varnishes, paints, stains, etc.
Bora-Care is only available in the gallon size. Unfortunatly it does not come in any smaller quatities.
