Worried about borer?

Don’t be. We do borer treatments Auckland wide and can help protect your home and furniture.

Book an independent house inspection for peace of mind. If you do need borer treatment at your place, we’ll get on top of them for you.

Info about borer treatment

What is Borer?

Firstly, and most importantly, New Zealand borer are not like their Australian cousins, the aggressive subterranean termites. When Auckland homeowners think of borer, they often fear their home is going to collapse in a year or two, but we don’t have these type of termites in NZ and our borer species are all non-aggressive.

Let’s put your mind at ease

At Bug King, we rarely find major problems in the wooden structure of homes, particularly in Auckland. Homes located in the cooler areas of New Zealand, such as Southland and Otago, are more likely to be affected by borer than we are in the sub-tropics. When we do get asked to see if homes need treatment for borer, in most cases they don’t. And if they do, only minor work needs to be done.

But I’ve seen borer holes in my home

It’s the borer larvae that do the eating, and in New Zealand we have two main types: the Common House Borer and the Two Tooth Borer. The larvae are slow eaters; they spend 2- 4 years eating their way through soft timbers such floorboards, timber house piles, weatherboards, door and window frames, joists and timber furniture, before popping out through small flight holes between November and January. This is borer flight season, the time when the adult borer beetles emergeg from the wood.

As they come out of the timber, they open the small (2-3mm) holes in the surface and you’ll notice sawdust coming out of the hole or in a small pile on floors and ledges underneath weatherboards, architraves, skirting, window frames, floor boards and furniture. This is how we identify borer infestation.

Will the borer spread from the infested wood?

Unlikely. Borer like softer un-treated sapwood timber with a reasonable level of moisture in it. Most NZ homes are made with treated timber or harder heartwood timbers. These are unsuitable for borer habitation.

If harder heartwood becomes infested it is usually a maintenance issue rather than a borer issue. Weathered paint or water leaks that allow moisture to enter the timber and soften it enough for borer to attack.

Do borer bombs work?

No. Borer bombs will only kill the adult borer beetles that are out of the wood. It won’t kill the borer larvae that are doing the real damage inside the wood and the fumes will only be effective while they are present. These will usually clear out within an hour or two.

If you want advice on borer treatment and the options that will suit your home and property best, feel free to give Bug King team a call on 0800 546454.

Borer inspections

Our pest control experts can provide a full inspection including getting in the roof space and under the sub-floor, and inspecting exposed internal timber and external weatherboards. if required.

We will then provide a report detailing the borer type, level and spread of the infestation and recommendations on borer treatment and pricing. We can carry out Borer treatment Auckland wide.

Internal borer treatment

Treating internal timber is difficult as the active ingredient is unable to penetrate the timber due to paint and varnish.

A residual surface borer treatment can be applied to wooden surfaces throughout your home in October to kill any emerging adult borer beetles over the November to January flight season. This stops them laying eggs in the exit holes and breaks the borer life-cycle.

The treatment needs to be completed four years in a row as the borer life-cycle is 3-4 years.

Roof-space and sub-floor borer treatments

These are one-off borer treatments as the active ingredient can penetrate the bare timber. A treatment is applied directly to all timber surfaces. The treatment soaks into the timber and borer larvae and pupae are killed as they consume it.

This borer treatment will stop borer in their tracks for at least 5 years.

borer in furniture

If you’ve seen tell-tale borer piles, it may not be as bad as you think. Book one of our independent house inspections and it could just save you thousands in unnecessary borer treatment costs. And in the event you do actually need help, we only provide the borer treatment Auckland homes will really benefit from. You can trust us.

If needed, we’ll put a stop to borer eating your home once and for all

Testimonials

It’s always good to take someone else’s word for it!  Read what our customers have said about us following a successful pest removal. We can also arrange for you to speak directly to someone who has used our services, as we appreciate that you need to be absolutely certain about how our pest control works before you ask us into your home. 

Kate Gooch
Kate Gooch
November 27, 2022.
Excellent service and after care to ensure I was a very happy customer with no ants!
Richenda Oh
Richenda Oh
November 16, 2022.
Use this guy! He is good, was down to earth, upfront and easily and quickly told us which rodents we had where and how to get rid of them.
Rebecca Yeng Tung
Rebecca Yeng Tung
October 30, 2022.
So this is my second time using Bug King, I had used them last year, since then we have bought a new home and the previous owners had a dog so naturally how new home had fleas which was biting my young children at night. Just like my 5 star experience before we go the same 5 star treatment second time around. Mo was once again earlier than expected which was great he did what he had to and went over and beyond what we expected. Yvette in the office was a breeze to work with. My kids have not been bitten since so I am one happy mum with happy kids! I didn't expect anything less from Bug King and as long as the awesome service doesn't change I will always be a loyal customer if I do anything done at my house they will always be my first point of contact! Thanks again Mo and Yvette best in business!
Tas Matiatos
Tas Matiatos
August 23, 2022.
Thank you to the team at Bugking. Perfect result, the insect problem has gone! Friendly staff and very professional. Highly recommend.
Grace Vujnovich
Grace Vujnovich
August 17, 2022.
Great experience working with the Bug King team. Mark was professional and friendly and haven't seen an ant since :)
Mark Leslie
Mark Leslie
May 11, 2022.
We've just had our final inspection completed, and have been thoroughly impressed by Bug King's responsiveness and service. Mo was a pleasure to deal with! Thank you Bug King for all your assistance, and putting our minds at ease!
Ross Bymolt
Ross Bymolt
April 14, 2022.
The previous tenants had 3 pets who clearly had thousands of their own pets! After 9 flea bombs, we admitted defeat and I called Mark who was able to accommodate us the next day which was amazing. He explained the flea life cycle and why the bombs weren't working, and why his solution would. Half an hour later the house was treated, and so far so good! I definitely recommend Bug King for a top notch, professional service.