Bora-Care - Questions & Answers

Yes, you should cut the wood to the final size before treating with Boracare. You do not want to waste the product on wood that will not be used. Yes, Boracare can be painted on the oak. Yes, you can treat both sides. You will use a 1:1 ratio of Boracare for an active infestation. Once the product is dry, you can do whatever you want with the wood, such as staining it. If you would like to treat the other wood, you can. If you have not seen activity though, it may not be necessary. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Boracare should not be hard. When was this product purchased? Did you get this from us?

Please give us a call, and we would be happy to assist you with your product. Our phone number is 866-581-7378. Our hours are Monday-Friday 9-5 EST. You are also welcomed to respond to this email.

Boracare can be mixed with hot water or used as a foaming agent. The amount of water will depend of the if you are doing a treatment for an active infestation or for preventative.

Foaming is the preferred method when treating voids. To foam a product you need a poly foamer to apply the foam and our ProFoam Foaming Concentrate which is an expanding liquid you need to mix with the solution.  You would mix the Bora-Care with water in a one gallon poly foamer, then pour in the foaming agent, then mix it all together and pump up the poly foamer.  You are now ready to foam voids.

Yes, you will want to use Boracare on infested furniture at a 1:1 ratio. Treat all accessible areas of the raw wood to ensure the Boracare is absorbed completely throughout the wood. After 1st application, let dry for approx 30 min - 1 hour and do a 2nd coat. After both applications, it is recommended you may apply a stain or clear coat to protect your treatment. Please refer to page 4 of product label for detailed instructions.

The regular Bora Care will not prevent mold growth. However, the Bora Care with Mold Care will kill and prevent future mold growth on a variety of surfaces including wood, cellulosic drywall (sheetrock), and concrete. You may paint surfaces after you have treated with Bora Care with Mold Care and allowed it to fully dry whichshould take about 72 hours.

We are not very familiar with the process of tenting a home and how it affects the powder post beetles, their larvae thats in the wood, and if it prevents at all or just kills the ones within it. This would be a question you would definitely want to consult with the company that did the treatment on to find out how their treatment was supposed to work for your home. Typically if a customer was not tenting their home and had powder post beetles somewhere within it, you would only treat the wood that has them currently in it with a product like Boracare. Boracare is a wood treatment product that will absorb all the way into the wood and will kill any insects that are currently infesting it as well as last for the life of the wood to protect it from any future wood destroying insects like powder post beetles and termites. Boracare must be applied to raw wood only though so you cannot apply it to any beams or wood that has been painted, stained or finished in any way as it will not soak into the wood. If the wood you need to treat has paint or some finish on it, you would either need to remove it by stripping it or sanding it and apply the Boracare to the raw wood before refinishing it, or use a product like Jecta which is for sealed wood and is drilled and injected into the wood. Even after applying a product like Boracare to all sides of the infested raw wood (ideal situation) you can often still see signs of activity of the powder post beetles for a few years after treatment. This is because the product works through ingestion so as the larvae emerge from the wood (which is whenever they are good and ready) they eat the wood on their way out and ingest it and die. No new adults will be able to leave them in any holes in the wood as again, once they ingest it they will die. Normally tenting is used when the whole home is so infested with Powder Post Beetles that treating with products like Boracare and Jecta would be unreasonable. Please review over our article on treating for Powder Post Beetles and let us know if you have any questions.

In order to get the full benefits of using Boracare, the label states it is to be used on raw untreated wood. We recommend sanding or stripping the wood, then applying the Boracare. 

We have not heard of this issue before. Therefore, we would recommend that you contact the manufacturer, Nisus for further assistance. Nisus may be reached at 800-264-0870.

Boracare is not meant to be used as soil treatment product and should not be used in that way. Boracare is only labeld to treat termites, wood destroying insects, powderpost beetles on raw undtreated wood. For preventative treatments, mix at 5:1 ratio and 1:1 ratio for active treatments. 

Termidor SC is the best product for soil barrier treatments and will last 10 years in the soil. Please take a look at Termite Control Articles here and How To Do Your Own Termite Treatment Article for more detailed information.  

For most pre-treatments, you will do a 5:1 ratio. You will use 1 gallon of Bora-Care to 5 gallons of hot water.

For framed wood surfaces above ground, apply a 1:1 solution. Treat remainder of structural wood in a 5:1 solution. Concentrate application in areas susceptible to attack, to include all sills, plates, floor joists, piers, girders and subfloors. Treat all exterior wood including siding, facias, soffits, eaves, roofing, porches, decks and railing. If Bora-Care is the sole preventative treatment for subterranean termites, a 1:1 solution must be used.

Buildings on crawl spaces and basements (preventative and pretreatment) – Use a 1:1 solution and apply in a 2 foot uninterrupted band to all structural wood surfaces in crawl spaces and basements. To prevent termite shelter tubes on crawlspace walls, apply to concrete or block walls in a 2 foot band up from the ground on interior wall surfaces. Apply at the rate of one gallon to 400 square feet of surface area.

For an active Drywood termite infestation, mix 1 gallon of BoraCare with 1 gallon of water. 

One gallon of Bora-Care will treat approximately 100 lineal feet of 2 x 4 stud wall. Typically, one gallon of concentrate Bora-Care will treat 800 square feet of a 2x4 stud wall, and 500 square feet of a crawl space or attic.

Depending on how big of an area and what specifically you are treating for drywood termites (floors, furniture, crawlspace,etc) will depend on how much BoraCare to use.

Boracare is not restricted to Hawaii. We can ship to you!  

It would be best to be cautious of the exposed wires.  BORACARE can also be applied with a paint brush as well. Please be sure to mix with hot water to make it easier to mix and apply. 

You could treat the wood in the area with a product like Bora-Care to protect it from future termite infestation.  For further protection doing a treatment outside would be most recommended.  Our How To Do A Termite Treatment article explains exactly what to do, mainly placing a protective perimeter around the outside by trenching.

You want to wait at least 72 hours after application to allow for Boracare to dry. Then you can do what ever you wish to the wood.

Boracare will treat for drywood termites. First, we want to make sure these are drywood termites. Most folks will have a PCO come out and make an ID no charge. Once this termite species has been identified we can make the best recommendation for you.

Bora-Care should only be applied to raw wood. It will not penetrate through any wood that has been pre-treated. Wood that is not painted, stained, sealed, pressure treated or any other pre-treatment on the woods surface.

No, you do not have to moisten the wood before treating it with Boracare.

We recommend using a borate product such as BoraCare or Timbor and treating the affected wood directly. Please read our Dry Rot Repair Article for directions and application procedures.