Customer Reviews for Bora-Care

painted on, two coats, as directions. easy to use, appears effective. only objection is high cost.

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Put two coats on our ceiling. Three weeks later still the same size pile of dust every day. Very disappointed!!

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I used this product about a month ago and put on 2 coats. Powder post beetles are no where in sight so far!

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I just used the product on my wood deck. When the weather cools I will put two coats of clear waterproof on the wood. I'm hoping to have great results next year with no black mildew or mold.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I wanted to wait to write the review for awhile as the sawdust continued to form for a couple weeks after treatment. 2 coats were applied. Now, about a month later, I don't see any new sawdust. Hopefully this will take care of the problem. The Boracare was easy to apply. I have 1/2 gal left, so I will save it for next year and give it another 2 coats. This was used on 5" timbers used as landscaping timbers around a basement egress window. The timbers are stacked on each other, so most timbers only had one side coated. Some had 2 sides coated. Rich

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I ordered the Bora-Care in 3 different lots due to not knowing the coverage. If you are in an active infestation, dilution is 1:1 per the bottle instructions, "remediation". Unfortunately this is not explicitly clear from Nisus per my internet research, in my experience. This shipped from Georgia, x3, to the west coast in 2 days...amazing. I will update the review in 6 months, if allowed, regarding the effectiveness of the product.

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Excellent service. Boracare arrived quickly and with minimum packaging. Stuff works great and gets rid of almost every insect without using poison. If you buy this stuff locally, it costs twice as much as this online store.

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6 of 6 people found this review helpful

I used the Boracare first and it was applied with a hand held sprayer. My crawl space is almost 100 linear feet and I was just shy of having enough to finish the block on a 10' section. Then I went over everything under there with the Boracare Mold-Care and had enough to make 2 coats on everything and enough left over to go over the 10' sections I left out with the first application of the the Boracare several times.

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I've used Boracare in renovations on wood window frames and sashes, wooden porch columns, interior structural members and on the exterior when sealed with a couple of coats of penetrating oil primer. It works great and soaks deep into the wood. I've also used it in new construction, putting it in a garden sprayer and coating the lower 4 feet of sheathing and framing before closing in the walls. Dilute it 50/50 with hot water. It's non-toxic and cheap insurance.

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5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Spent hours building oak live edge table to find out it was full of termites. Called exterminators and they gave me the run around tried to get me to sign contracts for service. Found this product, drilled holes on underside next to affected areas, applied 3 coats at 2:1 ratio to the unfinished underside, and now it's been almost a month without any new activity. Excellent product, didn't leave any stain marks to carpet or finished top.

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Good product but a bit hard to mix because of thickness.Additionally, adding other pesticides doesn't work well, they sink to the bottom and harden. Buy more than enough to coat every piece of wood exposed or insects will find a home in the untreated wood. Bora Care does not treat pressure treated wood.

  Expert response:
Thank you for your comments! We would not recommend mixing any other products with Boracare unless it is a spray indicator. To mix Boracare, use a separate container from your sprayer and use an impeller-type mixer for best results. You will then pour the finished solution into your spray equipment to apply it. Please let us know if we can further assist you!

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6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Boracare arrived in a concentrated 1 gallon container. It has the consistency of syrup (slightly thick) and I diluted it with water on a 1 to 1 basis. I could not find my sprauer so I rolled on the first application with a paint roller. I also brushed on a door facing that needed treatment. I used one gallon of the two gallon diluted solution and then I found my sprayer. I sprayed on the last coat of Boracare and I preferred the sprayer. I used plastic gloves, googles and old clothes. Did I get some on me? Yes. I threw the clothes away including underware and tennis shoes and took a quick shower. In summary, I put 2 coats on the wood that needed treating. This will be a five star rating if I got rid of the powder post beetles (which I won't know for about 3 months). Instructions from the supplier were excellent. Now it is wait and see. One suggestion-Don't ever use old wood for new house construction!

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8 of 8 people found this review helpful

I ordered 2 Galls of Bora Care after I found dry wall termite activity inside the walls I had opened during a remodel. I needed the stuff fast and Do My Own got it too me in two days. Well package no leaks... good job. I applied the product using a brush not the recommended process but it worked. Brushing put on a nice thick coat which took two days to thoroughly dry. It drys white so if you drip on other cosmetic wood it will stain. I like the product and hope it gets rid of the termites. I plan to coat all new wood from now on.... dont know why contractors dont spray during the construction phase of a house. Giving the product 4 stars because only time will tell if it keeps the termites at bay.

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5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Finding a sprayer that exerts enough pressure to spray the mixed product (in my case 1:1 mix fairly viscous) is essential. The right tip, fan spread is critical too. The "hazardous warnings, gloves, clothing, mask is all marketing BS, as it is as harmless as table salt. I would not inhale it or eat it, but it is not Round UP type product. This is a huge bonus, but the literature does not differentiate it from harsh chemical formulation. Will it work, I think it may. why does it work, it disrupts the digestive cycle of the beetle. How does it continue to penetrate, IDK, but boron is a low molecular weight molecule very low on periodic table, and I speculate so tiny it continues to penetrate with cycling of temperature in to the wood, inches they say over years. Two coats, 1:1 was my application.

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I have been in Historic Restoration for almost 3 decades. I work for one of the largest Historic Construction/Preservation companies on the West Coast. We use Bora-Care almost exclusively in treating both architectural and structural wood members in the process of construction and restoration. We also apply Bora-Care to new wood members that are being integrated into existing wood members. Bora-Care is also often specified by the Architects and Engineers for us to use. It is almost odorless, mixes easily, and can be applied with a simple garden pump style sprayer. It is really a no brainer when it comes to self treating for termites and other insects.

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I can't speak to how the powder post beetles will feel about it yet, as it's only been applied for one week now, however it was super easy to dilute and mix and applied fast and easily. DoMyOwnPestControl shipped it in a timely manner and packaged it well. I have no complaints and am thrilled to be able to use a product which had no fumes coming up thru the floor and was safe for my two little dogs. Other products' fumes can last for a very long time and make people and animals ill. As to how long the product will continue to kill powder post beetles, I'll go look for evidence of them a year from now. It could quite possibly last longer. I live in a VERY DAMP climate (the coast) where moisture is the number one problem. This appears to be the best solution on the market so far.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I wish to treat a playhouse for active termites and only Boracare at high concentration was the only possibility as a DIY solution to active termite infestation. However, there is insufficient instruction on how to prepare the product which is in highly viscous and concentrated form - much like cold honey in consistency. The step that should be included in instruction is to use HOT water and a paint mixer in a bucket prior to placing in a sprayer. Also, use gloves as the glycol is toxic to humans and animals alike; keep animals away until the wood is dry and also then coat the treated wood with a sealer/stain/paint afterwards to make sure no glycol can be consumed by animal or child.

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33 of 35 people found this review helpful

Recently a friend gave me a beautiful 19th century cabinetmaker's workbench made of thick, heavy maple timbers. My friend warned me that it might be infested with ants but two days later the appearance of fresh frass on its surface indicated an infestation of powderpost beetles. Running the face of one of the vise jaws over my jointer revealed a network of canals and living powderpost beetle larvae. Not wanting to convert this great antique to firewood, I searched the internet for any possible remedy. My search was initally quite discouraging until I started running across recommendations for Boracare. Despite the glowing reviews I read, I was not inclined to spend so much money on a product that sold for around $100 a gallon on some web sites. Persistence finally brought me to DoMyOwnPestControl.com which advertised the same product for about three-quarters the cost of its competitors with the added incentive of FREE SHIPPING. Since the workbench itself cost me nothing, I decided to risk $77.45 on the outside chance that the piece could be saved and placed my order. I then prepared the workbench by thoroughly power sanding every exposed surface to remove any dirt, old glue, dried finish, the 100 or more year old oxidation patina, and anything else on the surface that might prevent the solution from being optimally absorbed. Several days later when the Boracare arrived, I followed the directions that came with it and gave the workbench two complete coats of the solution. That was two and one-half weeks ago and I have since seen no signs of any insect infestation. However, I will continue to give it close daily inspections before initiating any restoration work. So far I am greatly encouraged but still not absolutely convinced that the powderpost beetle infestation is a thing of the past.

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48 of 57 people found this review helpful

I won't know how effective bora-care is on preventing termite & fungus damage for 20 years . But this is my experiences mixing it with water. I used a 1 to 1 mix because the existing untreated douglas fur 2x8 joists joists under my trex composite decking suffered random termite and dry rot damage. There is no roof over this deck and the surfer I hired to install it provided no spacing between the trex planks and used 16 sinkers instead of stainless screws and 1/3 of his sinkers missed the joists. After 20 years most of the sinkers were rusted away. This location is on the central cal coast about 100' above and 400' from the sea. Pretty corrosive environment. Actually the most damaged components were the 2x12 clear redwood fascia surrounding the deck. It looked like a honeycomb from the termites . I painted the new, replacement, already pressure treated (copper solution) 2x8 fur joists with a 1 to 1 bora care solution. I used the same on the new, non pressure treated redwood 2x12 and also on the top surround 2x6 railing. Since I was painting each joist on 4 sides twice with the solution I mixed small batches ( 1 quart) of the very thick (like STP) bora-care with water from our water heater at 160+ degree F hot water. I incorporated the hot water into the BC slowly mixing with a painting stir stick which worked well for starters and finished with a rotating metal paint stir tool driven by my electric drill motor. I experimented with the water temp and found the hotter the better. I'm 80 so, don't check back with me in 20 years. Flapz

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful