Wood preservatives based on protein borates, both obtained by just mixed water solutions of protein and boric acid, as well as in the case of premanufactured protein borates salts are shown to be a good method to greatly retard the leaching of boron from treated timber. Hence just premixed albumin + boric acid, premanufactured albumin borate and soja protein + boric acid all showed good preservative performance and much retarded leaching of boron. Accelerated biological tests indicated that boric acid partially fixed to timber by formation of a salt with albumin and other proteins which are then insolubilised by heat-induced coagulation can yield durability performances comparable to those obtained with CCA wood preservatives. The results of the biological tests show that protein borates, and particularly albumin borate, can be classified as long-term, wide-spectrum, ground-contact, heavy-duty wood preservatives, and are only composed of boric acid, a non-toxic to mammals biocide and of a non-toxic, natural, sometimes waste material, namely a protein. The mechanism is one of partially reversible rather than totally irreversible fixation of boron, leaving at all times small amounts of boron free to exercise its antifungal activity, but drastically diminishing its tendency to leach and greatly retarding its leaching. Boric acid leaching as a function of exposure time appears to tend to an equilibrium value. The timber is treated by just single stage, water-borne vacuum/pressure treating cycles as for traditional wood preservatives.