2. How Does the Product Work?
- PostGuard / CobraRod is water soluble and when water ( Moisture Content above 20%) is in the wood it dissolves slowly and moves through the wood
- Wood requires at least 25% moisture content for decay organisms to proliferate and PostGuard / CobraRod works ideally in these conditions to stop rot

3. What Do I Use PostGuard / CobraRod For?
- Use it to extend the life of fencepost, wood retaining walls, deck beams and posts, log homes, corrals, hay sheds, pole barns and other wood-post farming structures
- PostGuard / CobraRod is best suited for larger stock wood, i.e. 4" x 4" or greater.

4. How hard is it to Use?
- Very Quick and easy to use. It takes 2-3 minutes per post. A typical backyard fence can be done in less than an hour.
- Drill a half-inch diameter hole into the wood at ground line, drop in a PostGuard / CobraRod and plug the hole with a CobraPlug

5. What Tools Do I Need?
- 1/2" drill bit, drill, hammer, PostGuard / CobraRods and plugs

6. I Used Pre-Treated Wood When I Built My Fence. Why Do I Need to Add This Treatment?
- Typically treated wood does not last the prescribed 20 years. Often the quality of the exterior surface of the pressure treated wood is compromised thereby shortening the expected life of treated wood. A seasoning check (crack) will expose untreated wood and open the avenue for internal rot to start.
- Often wood is only "pressure painted", the treatment is less than a 1/4" deep.
- Some woods such as spruce, pine and fir are difficult to pressure treat effectively
- In many cases the heartwood does not take up any preservative
- Furthermore, checks in wood leaves the heartwood exposed to air and moisture and PostGuard ensures the heart wood has preservative to defend against rot

7. Should I Use Untreated Wood and Treat it with PostGuard / CobraRod?
This can be a lower cost solution than using treated lumber, however the bottom line is that the original exterior wood treatments do work to slow decay. However, some of the treatments are not safe - for example home-use and retail sale of copper-chromate arsenic (CCA) will stop in Canada and the USA December 31, 2003. Another major problem is that treated wood often checks, which exposes untreated wood to decay conditions. We'd recommend using both treated wood and PostGuard / CobraRod to most effectively stop rot. The real answer is to have both an exterior treatment and an interior treatment in critical zones such as the groundline.

8. Why Does Wood Go Bad?
- Wood is a good food source for decay causing organisms (with lignin, cellulose, starch and sugar)
- Combine wood with more than 20% moisture and expose it to air (decay causing organisms' spores naturally are present in air) and there are ideal conditions for fungal spores to grow and cause decay.

9. What Can Be Done to Stop Natural Decay?
- Treat the wood with a preservative that arrests or controls decay organisms
- PostGuard / CobraRod is a preservative combining two traditional biocides, copper and boron. Both are proven preservatives, which work on different families of decay organisms

10. Do I Need A Professional Applicator to Do This Job?
- You do not because it is simple to install. PostGuard / CobraRod is labeled as a general use pesticide and is safer to handle than a weed and feed fertilizer.
- You just need a drill, a hammer, and PostGuard / CobraRods and plugs
- However, many people will prefer using a landscaper contractor or handy man service because it is not expensive

11. Do I Have to Install PostGuard / CobraRods when I Build or Can I Do It Later?
- You don't have to install at time of building, however, treatment with PostGuard / CobraRod would be like an inexpensive insurance policy
- PostGuard / CobraRod improves the chances that your wood will not rot
- PostGuard / CobraRod can be installed anytime after original installation - even when early signs of incipient decay/rot are present

12. How Fast Does PostGuard / CobraRod Work?
- It depends on the environment of the wood and moisture content of the wood
- If the wood is low in moisture content PostGuard / CobraRod will activate slower but decay will not be present
- Should the wood moisture content rise above 20% fungal activity can begin but PostGuard / CobraRod will also mobilize and destroy fungal spores as they try to develop.

13. How Long Will It Last?
- Again it depends on the environment
- Typically PostGuard / CobraRod will protect against decay for 8 to 10 years

14. How Do I Know if My Deck/Fence Has a Problem?
- Can be difficult to detect since decay can occur from either the inside-out or from the outside surface in
- Visually one might see decay by erosion of wood near the groundline with wood that can easily be scraped away with a key or screwdriver will be "punky". The wood grain will appear "feathery", i.e. splitting away into hairlike separations.
- Wood can be visually discolored
- Internal decay can be identified by drilling into the wood and seeing wet-crumbly wood shavings. There could also be loss of internal wood (i.e. disintegration) with less resistance to drilling into the wood than if you drilled into wood that had no decay.
- In some cases of extensive external decay white fungal mycelium will appear in the checks and cracks at the wood surface.

15. Is There a Better Time of Year to Install the PostGuard / CobraRod?
- Can be installed any time of year
- Easiest to install in spring and fall when tree/plant foliage does not restrict access to wood, however, can also be installed in summer

16. Is it Safe Around Pets and Children?
- Very safe - similar toxicity to table salt
- PostGuard / CobraRod has been tested with ingestion tests and dermal contact testing and is safe.
- Canadian government has granted PostGuard product approval through the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and US government has granted CobraRod product approval through the Environmental Protection Agency.

17. Will it Harm My Plant?
- No
- Copper and Boron are micro-nutrients and are required by most living plants - only cause problems in very high doses
- PostGuard / CobraRod - copper and Boron - present in relatively low concentrations in wood set in soil and is retained primarily in the wood
- Therefore, over doses that may cause phytotoxicity to plant life near fence posts or decks will not occur.

18. How Long Has This Product Been on the Market?
- PostGuard / CobraRod is a new product for home, agricultural and commercial uses
- However, this product has been used by utilities since 1995 for extending useful life of utility poles.

19. I have heard that Wood Preservatives are Dangerous. Should I be Handling PostGuard / CobraRod?
- In general many traditional wood preservatives are dangerous
- This is why PostGuard / CobraRod is such a unique product .... It is very safe for use around the home
- It is a "general use" pesticide where in the utility industry its competing products are classified as "restricted-use" preservatives.

20. How Much Does PostGuard / CobraRod Cost?
- Typically below $2.50 per post installed
- Below $30 per 80 lineal feet of fence post

21. Where Can I Get PostGuard / CobraRod?
- PostGuard / CobraRod can be purchased from the Genics office in Spruce Grove, Alberta at 1-877-9-GENICS
- Also purchased regionally in British Columbia, Southwest Ontario, and the Pacific Northwest states in USA through local distributors and in some areas through retail channels.

22. Where Are These Products Manufactured?
- PostGuard / CobraRod is manufactured at the Genics plant in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada

23. How Do I Install PostGuard / CobraRod?
- Start to drill just above ground line
- Drill a 1/2" hole on a 45 degree angle downward approximately 3 1/2" into the wood
- Insert the PostGuard /CobraRod into the hole
- Place a plastic CobraPlug into the hole and tap in with a hammer

24. What is the Ground line?
- The ground line is where the wood post meets the surface of the ground

25. When Does Pre-Mature Decay and Replacement Occur?
- It depends on the quality of the original pressure treatment and the environmental conditions where the wood is installed.
- Some wood installations instances - such as for posts in water or in concrete and if wood treatment quality is poor - can lead to premature decay of wood
- Pre-mature replacement can be as early as 6 to 10 years after installation

26. What is the Savings From Using PostGuard / CobraRod vs. Replacement Cost of a Fence?
- A typical fence can cost anywhere from $15.00 $35.00 per foot, an 8-ft section including labor is about $200.00. If a PostGuard / CobraRod treatment is $5.00 per 8' span every 8-10 years, the pay back in life extension in just doubling the life is astronomical!

27. What Makes PostGuard / CobraRod Unique?
- Very safe to use and handle relative to other wood preservatives
- Environmentally safe compared to traditional preservatives
- Can do-it-yourself which is rare compared to most wood preservatives which are only applied on original purchased lumber

28. Does the Product Work on Carpenter Ants?
- Once PostGuard / CobraRod has begun to dissolve the wood will be protected against carpenter ants.

29. I Have a $10,000 deck installed with CCA-treated lumber nearly 3 years ago. Should I install PostGuard / CobraRod also?
- We'd recommend, at a minimum, you install PostGuard / CobraRods and plugs on your deck posts in the ground line zone. Other high value woods that is subjected to moisture and not exposed and allowed to dry out are other likely candidates for the treatment (under-deck support beams).
- PostGuard / CobraRod is extremely inexpensive to install on the key ground line posts vs. the alternative of pre-maturely having to replace rotten posts and structural support beams.

If you have any questions or concerns that are not covered here please go to the Contact Us page and submit your inquiry.