Josh from Tallahassee, Fl writes
I have about ten 6" x 8" x 10' hand hewn beams that are 100 yr old and have powder post beatle damage and want to be sure they aren't active before putting in new construction. Other than Boracare surface treatment, I would like to fumigate and have a steel container that can be used and appropriate safety gear/respirator. What can be purchased for fumigation or does it have to have a ag chemical license to get that type of stuff?
Boracare is the best product we have to treat raw wood for powerpost beetles or other similar wood-boring insects. Boracare is there for the life of the wood, however, in very old wood there may not be enough moisture for the Boracare to get all the way to the center of larger beams. Unfortunately, you must have a special chamber to fumigate individual items - an antique dealer can often give a referral - otherwise you would need to have a professional company come out to tent and treat the entire structure. You can do a full pre-construction treatment with Boracare or Timbor on the new raw structural wood to help prevent infestations of wood-boring beetles, carpenter ants, termites, and wood decay fungus.
Answer last updated on: 04/26/2018
