Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

If you are dealing with drywood termite the best product for treatment in an attic whether for eliminating a current colony or just as prevention, would be the Boracare. Boracare can be applied with a paint brush or sprayer directly to any raw natural wood surface to protect the surface for the life of the wood. The Boracare will soak in and penetrate the wood to treat it as a whole and will not be removed unless consumed by an insect or the wood itself is removed from the home.

Yes, you can treat the same wood with the Bora-Care.  The previous application of Timbor will have no affect on the absorption. Both products are borate-based and become one with the wood after application.

Unless a dye was added to the Bora-Care at the time of application, you would not be able to tell if the wood in your crawlspace has been treated or not. 

This could be numerous types of wood destroying insects. We would recommend to apply Boracare to the wood very directly with a paint brush.

Ideally we would need to know specifically what pest you are treating for. Are you treating for powder post beetles? Or are you treating for drywood termites? In most cases if a wood destroying insect is found within the frame of a piece of furniture your options are as follows: Option 1- Strip down any stain or finish on the wood down to its raw natural state and apply a product like Boracare to the raw wood surface to treat it and then you can refinish as desired once dry; Option 2- If stripping the finish off isnt an option then you would need to drill holes in the needed places of the furniture and insert a product like Jecta which is an injectable form of Boracare. Both the Boracare and Jecta absorb into the wood so that as the insects inside it eat the treated wood they consume it and die from it. Both products also last for the life of the wood to protect it; Option 3- If neither of those are an option for you and you dont want to drill holes or remove the finish, then your only option would be to hire a company that has a heat treatment or fumigation treatment chamber to put the furniture within to kill all the insects within it without doing any damage to the couch. 

Boracare lasts for the life of the wood if it is not exposed to rain, continuous water or ground contact. The amount of time Boracare lasts in the wood will depend upon those factors. There is no specific guarentee because some conditions are more or less favorable than others. In your case, we would recommend using a sealent of some kind after the application of Boracare. Do not expose treated exterior wood surfaces to rain or snow for at least 48 hours after treatment. For longer performance, exterior wood surfaces will require a topcoating with a water-resistant finish such as paint or exterior stain. Apply within 6 weeks of treatment. Boracare must dry completely (at least 48 hours) before applying any protective topcoat. If there is a current infestation, you will do a 1:1 application of Boracare. If this is just for preventative measure, you will do 5:1 application. Make sure the water is very hot when you are spraying it.

Boracare would be a great option for any exposed raw wood surfaces as it will last for the life of the wood and is not in direct shot of rain. However, if you are dealing with subterranean termites, which it sounds like by your reference to mud tunnels, you would need to treat the soil around the base of the structure to eliminate the colony as the Boracare will not get rid of the ones in the ground. Termidor is the number one product on the market for termite control and will eliminate both the termites currently in the soil around the structure and inside the structure, but will also protect it from any future infestations for at least the next 10 years. You can see our article on How To Do A Termite Treatment for the steps you would take to eradicate the colony and protect your structure without having to lift it higher from the ground. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

It is best to apply Bora-Care to wood that is free from dust or other debris.  

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.

We would recommend using Boracare. Apply only to bare wood or to wood surfaces where an intact water repellent or finish is not present. For preventative measures, you will use 5 gallons of very hot water with 1 gallon of Boracare. You can either paint this on or spray it on. Once the product dries, you can do whatever you wanted to do with the fence. We would recommend not spraying when anyone is around. It normally dries within 2-3 hours. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Per the SDS, Bora-Care is not flammable. We would not recommend applying this product near open flames.

Boracare is labeled for the follwoing types of beetles, Old House Borers, Longhorn Beetles and Ambrosia Beetles, Anobiid and Lyctid Powderpost Beetles.  It is best to apply to the entire piece of wood and surrounding raw wood to treat current infestations and protect from future infestations.

Subterranean termites and dry wood termites are two very different insects that require two very different treatments. We recommend that you get your termite infestation identified before you select a treatment method to be sure you are choosing the proper treatment method. Here two articles that can help you learn the differences between the two types of termites: Drywood Termites or Subterranean Termites. If you are still unsure after reading the articles you can always call in a professional company. Almost all termite companies will offer a free inspection and they will tell you what type of termites you are dealing with and how they recommend treating for the. At that point you can choose to hire them or do it your self. Termidor SC is the top termite product on the market. Termidor is completely undetectable by termites and once termites touch it they contact, ingest and spread the termiticide until it eliminates the entire colony. Termidor controls all types of termites including Subterranean, Formosan, and Drywood termites though the application method will be different for each type of termite. Both Termidor SC and Bora-Care are able to be shipped to California. We offer fast, free shipping. Please let us know if you need anything else. 866.581.7378

For prevention Bora-Care would be applied at the 5:1 ratio.  There is a chart here that can help determine how much is needed.  For 2x8 a 1:1 ratio will cover 308 lineal feet so at the 5:1 it would be 5 times that.  For new homes you typically only apply 2 feet up from ground.

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).

No, you cannot save the diluted BORACARE solution. Once mixed, BORACARE should be used within 24 hours or discarded.

Powder post beetles live inside wood and can remain dormant inside wood for up to 30 years.  Foggers will be unable to penetrate the wood to contact the beetles, and it certainly won’t give any sort of long term residual to product your wood when they beetles come out of their dormant stage. Bora-Care is the best product for powder post beetles.  It is sprayed/painted on raw untreated wood.  It will soak through to the center of the wood and protect the wood for the lifetime of the wood.

Bora-Care would definitely be what you want to use.  You can lay the boards out, spray or paint on the Bora-Care solution, flip the board and treat the other side, and then stack it.  Should not be an issue.  How for the bora-care goes depends on the thickness of the wood.  Please see page 10 of the bora-care label.  Table A on page 10 will tell you how many lineal feet of board the bora-care will treat based on thickness. The table tells you how many lineal feet a DILUTED gallon will treat.  Since you mix Bora-Care 1 gallon to 1 gallon of water which makes 2 gallons of diluted solution, you will double the figure shown.  For instance, it says if you have 2 x 4 wood it will treat 600 lineal feet.  You will double this amount so you will be able to treat 1200 lineal feet of 2 x 4.

Unfortunately BoraCare will not penetrate through stain either.  You would have to sand the surface stain off of the wood, pressure wash it off, or drill holes into the infested area and inject Bora-Care into the center of the wood.  Those would be the only options. 

The best product we recommend to use for wood boring insects is Boracare. Boracare will penetrate up to 4in into raw untreated wood. The active ingredient in Boracare is an inorganic salt and once in place will not decompose or volatilize out of the wood. Treatment is long lasting as long as the treated material is not exposed to rain, continuous water or ground contact.