Answers
Mar 17, 2013 - 10:19 PM
Hi Scott, Bora Care is considered a wood preservative, and it usually works very well on any type of wood. The only wood that Bora Care would not protect would be "petrified wood" :-)
Were the termites inside the treated plywood or behind it in the studs or sheathing that was untreated?
Mar 18, 2013 - 07:34 AM
Ron you said:
"Hi Scott, Bora Care is considered a wood preservative, and it usually works very well on any type of wood. The only wood that Bora Care would not protect would be "petrified wood" :-)
Were the termites inside the treated plywood or behind it in the studs or sheathing that was untreated?"
My response:
The termites are alive and well inside of the recently bora care treated (~30days) plywood wall. This is probably a strange senario insofar as this is a houseboat! The exterior walls of this boat are 3/4" ply on the interior side and the exterior side of the ply is bonded to fiberglass laminate. No stud structure.
My theory is the termites (subterranian species btw) had already bored "tunnels" through the ply and these cavities were prohibiting penetration of the bora care deeper.
Any input or solutions would be a huge help! I've honestly never seen that many bugs in one spot in my life. I'll never look a a bowl of rice the same! LOL.
Mar 18, 2013 - 09:11 PM
Ahh a houseboat, that explains it. In 25 years of using Bora Care, I have never heard of a failure with Subterranean termites.
Subterranean Termites build mud tunnels called "shelter tubes" that usually have direct contact with soil. In the absence of soil, this species can create an above ground colony with enough moisture. It is possible that they are living in the walls of your boat, or it could be drywood termites or some other species.
My question, how do you know these are subterranean termites? Are you positive they are not drywood termites? Drywood termites excrete wood pellets called "frass". You will usually find this frass inside of their tunnels and cavities and also at the bottom of "kickout" holes where they just toss it out.
We need to know what species we are dealing with. Where is the house boat anchored?
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