Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

Anytime you are treating exterior wood you should always use Bora-Care.  It will last longer in the wood than Timbor.  Also, when treating new wood with timbor it can leave a powdery residue because it is a powder.  Bora-Care dries clear and will look better after finishing the wood with the stain.  Since you have a rare opportunity to treat your new siding you should treat with the best, and Bora-care is the best.  When treating plywood that is close to 3/4" thick, you should apply at a rate of one gallon of Bora-Care to one gallon of water.  This will make two finished gallons.  These two finished gallons should treat 1066 square feet of siding.  Once you have applied the Bora-Care you should wait at least 48 hours for it to dry before applying any type of stain or sealant.

Bora-Care should be applied by a hand pump sprayer or painted on as suggested on the label.  Bora-Care is a very thick product and when applied through fine nozzles like a mister or a paint sprayer, it has been known to clog the nozzles on these sprayers.  It is meant to be applied through larger openings in hand pump sprayers or painted on.

We ALWAYS recommend using a 1:1 ratio  with Boracare because of 2 reasons.  First of all, a 1:1 ratio is the strongest ratio and will ensure complete penetration through the wood and it will protect longer in the wood than any other ratio.  Second, even though you are using new wood, or store bought raw wood, it can still contain beetles and other insects from the mill.  Applying a 1:1 ratio ensures that if there are any issues whatsoever, they are taken care of before they become a problem.

You should use the Boracare first followed by the Boracare with Mold care solution.

You can use Termidor to if you can drill to the site of the termites to ensure the termites will come in contact with the termiticide. A second option would be to use a wood treatment like Boracare. Boracare can be painted, sprayed, or foamed and will penetrate up to 4 inches into the wood but the wood will need to be sanded first and treated. The wood could be painted, stained and sealed after the product dries. If sealed, it will last for the life of the wood. Please refer to the product label as to what  application and mixing ratios.

Yes the Boracare will absorb all the way into the wood and eliminate any infestation that is there and last for the life of the 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.

The Boracare product label states that it does not have an odor.  

No, Bora-Care,  like any other borate product cannot be used on trees or plants.  Borate's will kill any living plant, shrub, grass or tree.  You might want to look at Talstar P.  It is typically used on trees for beetles.  It cannot be applied directly on the product you are harvesting but it can be applied to the bark and tree and it will not harm the tree itself.

BoraCare can be used indoors safely.  It is considered a green product and is made from natural products.  BoraCare is only meant to be applied on wood.  It can only be raw wood, meaning the studs in your wall.  It cannot be applied to painted wood, or sealed wood, only raw, untreated wood.  When treating drywood termites you would have to drill holes through your sheetrock where the holes are that the termites are kicking the droppings out, and drill into the stud.  This is where the termites are.  You would inject the wood with the boracare after mixing it with water.  Typically you would do this using a one gallon hand pump sprayer.  You should drill a hole every 6 inches up the stud to ensure good coverage.  If you have any specific questions, please feel free to call us at 866-581-7378. 

Bora-Care can take up to 90 days to completely penetrate through all of the wood to where all of the termites are.  Bora-Care does not kill the termites by touch.  The termites walking on the wood are not effected.  Bora-Care kills the termites by ingestion.  After the Bora-Care has moved through the wood, the termites that are still in the wood will die when they continue to eat and ingest the Bora-Care with the wood.  You should treat all exposed sides of the wood that you can get to.  One treatment is normally enough unless the wood you are treating is more than 8 inches thick.  The termites will not spread easily to other areas so that is not a concern.

You will need to paint or seal treated wood that is exposed to the elements to avoid having the product degrade.

Bora-Care will take up to 30 days or more to penetrate all the way through the wood.  It will only kill active beetles that are eating.  If there are dormant beetles that are not active, but become active later, let's say next year, you could see new activity at that time, but they will die once they start eating since Bora-Care stays in the wood forever.  It is common to see activity at a later date since beetles are not all active at the same time.

The Sealer should not have any effect on the Boracare treatment as long as you allow the Boracare application to dry before applying the sealer. We recommend waiting at least 3 days before sealing (but not longer than 6 weeks).

You can certainly use Boracare on your fence. Any areas that have an active infestation of powder post beetles will need to be treated at the rate of 1:1 and all other areas where there is no activity can be used 5:1. Once the Boracare has been applied to the fence, you will need to seal/stain/paint it to keep the rain from slowly washing it away over the years. If sealed, the Boracare will last for the life of the wood after application. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

If you treat any type of raw wood like your carvings with Boracare, it will eliminate the current infestation and prevent any new ones from starting a colony in those peices in the future. You will want to mix the Boracare at a 1:1 ratio and apply either with a sprayer or paint brush to the wood-whichever is easier for you- and do 2 coats if the wood is more than 4 inches thick in any area. It can take a couple of weeks sometimes for the product to move its way all the way to the center of the piece so you may still notice activity for a length of time after treatment as the product works its way through the infested areas. Any new termites that may come along will die from ingesting the treated wood immediately. The Boracare will last for the life of the wood so long as it is protected from the outdoor elements either to where it is kept or through a paint or sealant of some sort. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Bora-Care can be applied to any raw wood that is not painted, stained or sealed so yes it can be brushed on to the underside of the flooring.  It will only prevent termites from entering the wood that it is applied to and will penetrate up to 4 inches with one application.  It should be applied until the wood is just wet but not dripping.  Most of the time termites would have to eat through the sub-floor to get into the hardwood floors above, but there is no 100% guarantee that the termites will enter this way.  Treating the sub-floor would also ensure the termites do not get into the sub-floor as well.  If you want the hardwood floors better protected, you should treat all exposed wood also as long as they are unfinished.   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 tabel tells you how many lineal feet a DILUTED gallon will treat

Boracare can be used to treat for wood destroying insects and fungus. Boracare is to be applied to raw wood that will last for the lifespan of the wood itself. Please review the product label for further information.

The Bora-Care is currently only available in the gallon size.

Powderpost Beetle Control Article

You want the siding to be dry when you are applying Boracare per the label. It needs to be able to soak in to the dry wood.