Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

Bora-Care would be a great choice for treatment of powderpost beetles on raw natural wood. I have included the product label link below for additional information.

Bora-Care Product Label

Bora-Care Log Home Label

Bora-Care should only be used to prevent carpenter ants. We do not recommend using it to treat a current infestation. Once the ant gallery has already been establsihed Boracare will not be very effective.  You can treat the current infestation by using our Carpenter Ant Kit indoors and Taurus SC (against the exterior of the structure) and Advance Carpenter Ant Bait around trailing sites, trees, structure, wood piles, etc. Please take a few moments to review our article on How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants for a successful eradication program.

Boracare would be the best product to treat any accessible raw untreated wood for drywood termites. You can apply Boracare by rolling, painting, pressurized hand pump sprayer, or foamer. Please refer to our How to Treat for Drywood Termites Guide for step by step instructions on how to do a full treatment (Identify, Inspect, Treat & Prevent).  

Boracare can be applied to concrete, however, it would be best to treat the wood itself before it is stained or finished. Treating the slab only would not offer the same protection.

You should apply Boracare to raw wood. You can then apply any stain, sealant, or paint after the Boracare application has dried, usually 24-48 hours.  

Neither Boracare, or any liquid is safe to be sprayed into electrical wiring of any sort. This would be an extreme shock hazard and damage your equipment and wiring. Boracare is strictly a raw natural wood treatment product for wood destroying insects like Termites, Carpenter ants and Powder Post Beetles. If there is a particular pest you are trying to treat for you can let us know and we can recommend a product that can be used in the areas you mentioned.

Wood should be sanded and treated with Bora-Care prior to staining, painting, sealing etc. Please wear protective gear included in our Professional Safety Kit when applying the product. You should wait a few days after application has dried.This will allow the product to soak through the entire piece of wood. Do not wait longer than six weeks to re-sand/stain/seal.

No, Bora-Care is not allowed to be shipped to New York at this time.

You will want to pressure wash, dry, apply Bora-Care (allow to dry) and then seal after.

Boracare is not labeled for carpenter bee control as the boracare must be ingested to affect the insect. Carpenter bees only tear away at the wood, they dont eat it like termites do so they normally will not be affected. Carpenter bees are normally less attracted to treated wood but even after sealing the wood, you could use a residual spray like Cyonara 9.7 to spray across the wood to kill them just from landing on the treated surface. Bora-Care lasts for the life of the wood.

You will need to allow the wood to dry completely before applying the finish. We would recommend waiting at least 3-5 days after the Boracare application. 

Bora-Care will not kill palmetto bugs.  It is labeled for wood-destroying insects such as termites, carpenter ants, powderpost beetles, etc.  Insects need to ingest wood that has been treated with Bora-Care in order for it to kill them.  

We would recommend using Boracare first. Once the product has dried and a sealant has been used, then an insecticide can be used. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Yes it is completely safe to use Boracare in the home on exposed studs as long as only the applicator is in the area while the product is being applied, and until the surface of the studs has dried. This could be as little as a couple of hours or as much as a day depending on how heavily you applied the product. 

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 logs have 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.

Yes, Boracare can be applied in your garage.  It will not affect metal or wiring.  

BoraCare is a wood preservative that can be sprayed directly on the wood studs to kill wood destryoying insects and last indefinately, it never goes away. As far as other general insect pests, a broad spectrum insecticide dust such as Cimexa Dust can be applied inside of the wall void to kill a wide variety of insects. Cimexa Dust will normally last at least 10 years when left undisturbed and can be applied prior to installing sheetrock or drywall or through the openeing of faceplates of electrical outlets and light switches once drywall is installed. Both of these products are designed for long term control. Please be sure to read the product label for complete use instructions. 

Woodworm is a wide term that could mean several different species of wood boring beetle larvae, but Powder Post Beetles are the most common wood boring beetle homeowners have trouble with. You did not indicate where exactly you are having this problem and that would have helped us determine exactly what products you would need. We recommend you take a few moments to read our article How to Get Rid of Powder Post Beetles to learn more about how to control this pest. Boracare is the top selling product on the market for powder post beetle infestations.

Bora-Care should only be applied to raw wood. It will not penetrate through any wood that has been pre-treated. Wood that is not painted, stained, sealed, pressure treated or any other pre-treatment on the woods surface.