Borate Termite Treatment Enters Florida Market -- Offers Builders, Homebuyers Unparalleled...

Business Editors

VALENCIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2002

In a state where termites and decay fungi cause up to $1 billion in property damage each year, a safe, powerful solution is being introduced today to Florida builders and homebuyers that is guaranteed to last 20 years

-- four times longer than traditional barriers. The SmartGUARD(TM)/Advance Guard(R) solution comes in the form of building products resistant to termites, decay and other wood-destroying organisms. The products are new to the Florida market and are produced through a strategic alliance of three companies: U.S. Borax Inc., the world's leading borate supplier, Osmose, the leader in wood preservation technology, and LP, the world's largest producer of oriented strand board (OSB).

SmartGUARD/Advance Guard products include building materials such as studs, plywood, joists, rafters and OSB panels. The lumber and plywood products are pressure-treated with naturally-occurring minerals called borates. Borates prevent fungal decay and are deadly to termites, carpenter ants and roaches -- but safe for people, pets and the environment. Borates interfere with termites' metabolic pathways when ingested through feeding or grooming, effectively killing them. Any surviving termites avoid the protected wood products. This solution is even effective at terminating a voracious and highly destructive species, the subterranean Formosan termite -- nicknamed the "super termite."

"Florida residents are facing a crisis," says Tarun Bhatia, business development manager for U.S. Borax. "Formosan termites have already infested 90 counties and parishes in the southeast -- including counties in central Florida -- and are continuing to spread at an alarming rate. Formosans congregate in colonies ranging from one to ten million termites and often cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage before homeowners even know they're there. The only way to deal with these aggressive insects is to use an aggressive solution."

Many builders in Florida rely solely on traditional soil treatments to protect homes against termites. A chemical barrier is placed at the foot of the house to keep termites away. Soil treatments typically last from five to seven years, but Formosan termites can build nests above ground, allowing them to bypass the soil treatment. Soil barriers and baiting systems also fail to protect the house from decay fungi, drywood termites and other wood destroying organisms.