I was reading about boric acid for termites. Any experience? Thank you for the information and I will tell her about it.
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I hadn’t heard of it and I wouldn’t think it would work because the insects have to come into contact with it for it to work and termites are usually inside the wood.
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IIt was mixed with water and sprayed out of a hand pump sprayer. I was not familiar with using boric acid for termites, but I have about 4 times the EPA recommended amount of Dursban under my front concrete porch and it was not slowing down termites. We discovered our problem when we rehabbed our story and a half craftsman bungalow. Since the walls were down to the studs, the exterminators came and and spayed the boric acid solution directly on the studs, floor joists and other exposed wood. The termite problems stopped. We held up construction for 4 months until we felt we had the problem fixed. (one of the advantages of DIY.) I do not know the concentration of the boric acid in the sprayer.
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I was doing some research the other day on the solubility of boric acid with water. It is soluble with water but it takes some heat to make it go into solution with the water. 170 degrees C is the temperature it bonds with water, which is about 338 degrees F. It would probably take a pressure cooker to get it that hot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boric_acid#Propertieson
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Here is a table of soluability for boric acid: http://www.mandes.com.ar/technic-boric-acid.php
The amount in solution is related to the temperature of the water. You don’t need a pressure cooker to dissolve boric acid unless you want to make a very high concentration solution that would probably precipitate out as it cools.
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Boric acid DEFINITELY kills termites. It’s so good at it, they pressure-treat wood with it for just this purpose. There are two treatment routines. First is “copper boron azole” which is used for treating outdoor wood. The boric acid kills termites, the copper oxide cuts down on rotting, and the “azole” (it’s a chemical called tebuconazole, which is used in Europe as a food preservative for things like grain and fruit–please don’t ask how I know that) locks the boric acid into the wood. The other protocol is just plain boric acid, which is great for killing bugs but it leaches out in the rain. There is a wood called “SillBor” you can get for framing that’s treated this way, and the frames on Andersen and Jeld-Wen windows are treated with this.
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I need to replace windows, and am leaning toward Andersen or Pella– anyone have any advice on those 2 vs. Jeld-Wen or Marvin?? (I live about 2 blocks from the seashore in NY, not sure if that makes a difference. It’s a tiny little cottage, so only about 8 windows to replace- currently Andersen double hung, but I’m leaning toward casements… Never had termite problems, but it’s pretty wooded area). Also, any advice on fiber cement siding / James Hardy? Every contractor up here tries to talk me out of it… But I figure I’m only going to do all this work once, might as well do it properly.