Pih from United States writes
We gave all framing 2 treatments of 50/50 boracare/water 3 days ago. Still finding live termites crawling on treated wood. How long does it take to kill them? Is it a safe bet to reapply insulation and siding yet, or should we give the wood another treatment first? Should we be concerned that the termites will spread to other areas like say the attic where we have not treated, while everything is open and exposed to elements? Should we treat the back side of the siding and the black fire barrier material as well?
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.
Answer last updated on: 06/25/2012