Post #818688 by sophiewhitesman on Mon, Aug 3, 2026 4:51 AM

Timbor and Boracare are both borate-based products, so they work on the same principle: they get absorbed into the wood fibers and turn the wood itself toxic to wood-boring insects, including powderpost beetle larvae. This is different from a surface spray that just kills what it touches on contact.

The dunking method mentioned above is genuinely more effective than spraying for something like bamboo, since the borate solution can penetrate deeper into the material rather than just sitting on the surface. If you go that route, letting each piece soak for a few minutes and then allowing it to fully dry before installing is important, since the borate needs to actually absorb in rather than just wet the surface.

On your bigger question, whether your other wood could already have eggs waiting to hatch: unfortunately there's no way to know for certain without either treating everything preventively or waiting to see if more emergence holes and frass show up over time. Since anobiid powderpost beetle larvae can take a few years to develop before emerging, a piece can look completely fine for a long stretch and still be infested. Given that, treating all your bamboo trim with Timbor now, not just the visibly affected piece, is the safer move rather than trying to guess which pieces are contaminated.

One thing worth checking: powderpost beetles specifically go after starches in hardwood (and bamboo has similar starch content), so once the wood is fully kiln-dried and the moisture content drops low enough, it becomes far less attractive to them. If your bamboo hasn't been properly dried before installation, that's often the real root cause, and drying + borate treatment together is a stronger long-term fix than treatment alone.

You can read and get more idea at https://mytermitecompany.com/blog/