borax vs boracare vs timbor to fight powder post beetles

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My husband and I are reconstructing a 1759 log tavern on our property. We have discovered powder post beetles and old house borers in some of the logs and want to treat before proceeding. We have looked at boracare (which is cost prohibitive at $96.) a gallon aand timbor, which is much better, but was wondering if anyone has used either. We were also told by a local that plain old borax mixed with water will do the same thing and were wondering if anyone has tried this and what the results were. Also, what the mixing ration was. Thanks, if we ever get the place built I'll send you an article, I do write. This tavern even came with a "curse" which we found when we had it torn down. It will make quite a story if the bugs don't eat it first!! Jay

-- Jay Tallon (metadrjay@aol.com), December 19, 1999

Answers

I don't have an answer for you but I do recall reading that in the days that your cabin was built, people used the dust from powder post beetles for getting rid of diaper rash on babies. Kinda like we use corn starch now I suppose. I think they might have used it for brushing their teeth along with charcoal too. Maybe get rid of all but a few so you can eliminate a couple more consumer goods on your homestead!!!!!

-- Jason Youngblood (youngblood1@mindspring.com), December 19, 1999.

I havent used borax on powder post beetles but I have used it on plenty of other vile little critters. It kills everything including pets and kids if enough is ingested so be careful.

Obviously the following falls into the catagory of "things you should never do." Put borax in the drain tray under your refrigerator. Insure that pets and kids cant get under there. When the water drains into the pan then the critters come to get a drink, drink as much as they can, wander back home and by this time it has taken effect, dead! Powder can be spread out on a sheet of paper and then with a butter knife or screwdriver pull back the woodwork along the floor just wide enough to get the paper in and pour. The critter comes walking along behind the woodwork and gets its feet and such in the powder. It gets home and licks itself clean. Now its a dead critter.

If these beetles live in the logs that make up the walls then I dont know how to get them to walk in it or to get them to drink it. The only other way would be to soak it into the wood so far that when they eat the poisoned wood they die and I have no idea how one would go about that. That must be the advantage that these other products have is that it soaks in for them to eat...

-- William in Wi (wtoebe@wpsr.com), December 22, 1999.


I think that the problem with using Timbor on a already-dry structure is penetration of the wood. Timbor is for use on boards just as they are sawn, it is mixed with water and penetrates to the center of the boards through simple diffusion. Once wood is dry, Timbor does not penetrate effectively. Boracare is Borax in a Glycol carrier, and will penetrate up to around 2" of wood, I believe, and will work on dry material.

-- Cd (ncdoget@mindspring.com), May 01, 2001.

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