From: http://www.bamboo-expo.com/manufacturing.htm
"The purpose of this bath is to extract the inherent
starch that attracts termites or powder post beetles,
Boric acid and lime are a natural non-toxic repellent
and is used to insure that our products will come to
ou best pest free and will continue to be so throughout
the duration of their product life."
Also: http://www.hawaiibamboosociety.org/meetings.html
They use a: "boron and boric acid solution..."
It also appears that both bamboo and neem tree are
termite resistant woods.
From: http://www.crystal.com.au/~timber/page2.html
"Also, bamboo is 99% termite safe due to the fact that
it doesn't rot because it's moisture resistant. Bamboo
doesn't harbour the conditions for termites to thrive
making it an ideal choice for all Australian homes, but
especially for those living in damp areas who want to
enjoy the beauty of wooden floors, but are concerned
about the possible termite problems."
From: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/pir-ch.htm
"Besides being hard and fast growing, its (the neem
tree) chemical resistance to termites makes neem a
useful construction material."
http://www.doityourselftermitecontrol.com/other.htm
Might indicate your bigger problem might be the:
True Powderpost Beetles(Lyctidae):
The adults are very small, less than 1/4" in size.
They are flattened and reddish-brown to black in
color. Larvae are white, cream colored, c shaped
with dark brown heads. Larvae create tunnels in
the wood and become pupae. As adults they bore out
through the wood, pushing a fine powdery dust out
The shape of their holes are round,a bout 1/32-1/16
pinholes.
They attack hardwoods depositing their eggs. They
can attack bamboo(technically a grass), but because
of the large pores they will attack.
CONTROL AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
The first thing to do is reduce the moisture content,
to a proper ventilation to less than 20%.Moisture
meters can be used to determine the moisture level
in the wood. Central heat,vapor barriers and good
ventilation can help control moisture.
If practical..remove infested wood. If not,use
residual borate insecticides.
Recommended products are two borate insecticides:
TIMBOR is a powder that mixes with water. One lb.is
mixed with one gallon of water and sprayed to the
surface area of in infestation. When sprayed it
penetrates the entire wood, where it will remain
for several years .An alternative to Timbor is:
BORACARE. Boracare is a liquid borate that penetrates
faster initially than the Timbor for first few hours
but is equal after that..Timbor is considerabley
cheaper per gallon use. |
