Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

You can not mix Bifen I/T with Boracare and there would be no reason to with the areas you are treating. Mixing the two products together can reduce the effectiveness of the ingredients and Bifen could hinder the penetration of the wood of the Boracare. If you are treating for Drywood Termites you would treat the raw wood directly with Boracare at either a 1:1 ratio for active infestation or 5:1 for preventative and allow the wood to dry. The Boracare will last for the life of the wood to protect it from future infestations of wood destroying insects and wood destroying fungus. If you are treating for subterranean termites, you could use Bifen I/T for a treatment around the foundation but a better product would be a non-repellant termiticide like Termidor which would last twice as long in the soil and has a transfer effect to spread to the entire colony. If you already have Bifen you could use it to do a direct spot treatment on a colony in a wall void but for the soil treatments Termidor would be a better solution. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

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.

We do not recommend applying Boracare to firewood. Burning any type of insecticide would release the active ingredients into the air. Depending on what you are treating for you could use a granular insecticide like Talstar XTRA up to and around the pile of wood. Please let us know if you have nay further questions.

Only having one wall infested is possible. The wood is usually infested before it is installed and it can take many years to see activity. Boracare is one of the only known products that will penetrate into the interior of the wood. We are unaware of any over the counter products that work in such a manner. Boracare can only be applied to bare wood so any paint, stain or other finish will need to be removed prior to application. It is best to apply the Boracare to all sides of the wood whenever possible.

The Termidor trench treatment around your home is all that you would have to do if you have removed the damaged wood. If you wanted to treat the new as an extra precaution you would want to treat the wood with Boracare. Boracare can be sprayed or painted onto the raw wood and after treating all sides it will soak all the way through to the center and last for the life of the wood. Foaming your walls is not something you should do as this is only used to spot treat on active infestations in the walls. The foam will not leave behind a residual for more than a few weeks and even when treating an active infestation you are not foaming the entire wall void. If you want to do the termite bait stations to monitor activity in your yard after trenching that is a great idea, however again not necessary when doing a termidor treatment. It would be more of an extra protector and would just provide you with a way of physically seeing if there is activity. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

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.

Bora-Care is a great choice to treat powder post beetles on raw wood. The product can be purchased and applied by homeowners. The wood can be stained after the product has dried. We cannot comment on why the company refused to treat. For additional information on the product, you may contact the manufacturer at 800.264.0870.

Yes, Bora-Care would be the best product to use. 

Bora-Care is the preferred choice to treat wood for any insect issues if most of the wood is exposed and it is raw wood you are treating, meaning it is not painted, stained, or sealed, it is just normal wood.  If your wood is stained, then you would either have to sand off the finish to use Bora-Care, and then you can re-stain it after 24 hours of applying Bora-Care, or your other option is to drill holes every 6 inches apart into the center of the wood and inject Bora-Care to get it past the outside stain.  Bora-Care is made only for wood, and you do not have to know exactly where the termites are for it to work which is a plus.  Bora-Care is sprayed evenly over all exposed surfaces of the wood and actually penetrates through the entire piece of wood.  When the termites in the wood try to consume the wood after it has been treated, they ingest the Bora-Care with the wood and die.  No matter where they are in the wood the Bora-Care will find them as long as you treated the exposed wood that you can see.  The other main benefit is that Bora-Care stays in the wood forever, so you will not have to worry about termites or beetles infesting the wood that you treated ever again. Also, Bora-Care dries clear so you can paint the wood, stain it, or leave it looking natural. 

Bora-Care:  http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/boracare-p-100.html

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

Sterifab is not labeled to treat mold. Boracare alone will not treat mold. You would want to use a product called Boracare with Moldcare to kill existing mold and to prevent future mold growth.

We have spoken with the manufacturer of Bora-Care, Nisus, and they have stated that there is no problem with aluminum or copper or other metals with a Bora-Care application.  There has been over 1.5 million houses treated over the past 15 years with no reported adverse effects and we have also done direct corrosion studies with Bora-Care and aluminum that show no corrosion.  They are also in the process of taking the current wording off the MSDS which is directed only to manufacturing and not to the finished solution.

It sounds like you could be dealing with Powderpost Beetles.   You should use a wood treatment product to treat powder post beetles.  Bora-Care is the best wood treatment product available.  Bora-Care will penetrate through the wood and kill the larvae eating the wood no matter where they are in the wood.  However, it can only be applied to raw wood.  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. Dominion is not a wood treatment product and will not move through the wood.  You should use a wood treatment product like Bora-Care.  Please take a moment to read over our article on How to Get Rid of Powderpost Beetles.

Nisus recommends on the Bora Care product label that applicators use goggles, respirator, protective clothing, and chemical resistant gloves.

Yes, you can treat the same wood with the Boracare and the previous treatment with the Timbor will have no effect on the absorption. Both products are borate based and become one with the wood after applied. 

Bora-Care will only penetrate the wood that it is applied to.  If you want the top flooring to protected as well, you should treat those also as long as they are unfinished.  If your flooring is already finished with a stain and sealant, then you either have to sand off the finish and the re-finsh after applying Bora-Care, or you can drill holes into the infested pieces and inject Bora-Care.

Bora-Care should be applied to natural wood for termite treatment. It does state on the product label that it can be used on PVC plumbing pipes. For additional information not listed on the label, please contact Nisus at 800.264.0870.

Bora-Care is a wood treatment product that is used to treat raw wood for the eradication of powder post beetles. You can spray it on all sides of the wood or paint it on the wood. It should be mixed with hot water in a seperate container and then applied in your sprayer. Please click on the product label for additional information on the product. We carry the product in a gallon size and offer free shipping.

Bora-Care should be used to treat powderpost beetles on raw wood. It should be mixed at a 1:1 ratio and can be applied by spraying or painting the wood. Please refer to the product label for full mixing and application instructions.