Very lucky for to have it lasted that long. I didn't know that was possible. They must use some really strong stuff to achieve this longevity. I would be afraid to touch that stuff without gloves. And to live in it might be bad for your health. Modern building materials are also full of some nasty poisonous crap to! Please tell us Markit what do you think about the safety of this material. I think it's great and much more plentiful building material. If it's safe to use, I am all for using it.
Not an involved (let alone interested) party regards bamboo houses or (Government) Health & Safety ... but alive and motivated to stay that way.
The powerful chemical you refer to is a fusion of Borax (see 20mule cleaning powder) and Boric acid (see slime) which are boiled together to create something like DOT - Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate (
Borate). This is the active ingredient.
Not apparent in Markit's description if my memory serves, in the West, this is mixed with a glycol (nasty stuff ... see antifreeze or Austrian wine) either ethelyne or propylene to aid diffusion into the wood.
Dilute 50:50 water and soak.
For poor insects this stuff is a WMD and words like insect-(gen)ecide apply. It inhibits an enzyme necessary for digestion and is spread throughout the hive via grooming rituals - the result being the hive starves to death whilst gorging themselves. Takes a while mind.
Notably the EU have banned the use of Borax compounds whereas much of the rest of the World continues to use it including the good ol' US of A.
In summary, this is bad stuff - if you eat it, smear it onto your skin and/or eyes or feed it to your kids or pets - so don't do those things ! [Section 3.3]
That said, its widely used in makeup and even medicines ..... See
https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_027.pdf
There's a chap in Bali offering a natural alternative based on Neem oil - name escapes me at the moment - seems to have reported good results but I have not used it.