Boric Acid

It's been around forever and anti-pesticide groups embrace it. Good old boric acid, the colorless, odorless powder derived from borates that occurs naturally in soil, rocks, and seawater.

Besides pest control, boric acid has many uses that are very beneficial to mankind. It can be used as an antiseptic to sterilize wounds and as eye drops in a diluted form. It does everything from curing athlete’s foot to treating vaginal yeast infections. It soaks up moisture and kills fungus which makes it good for treating wood rot. Boric acid can be used to prevent wood boring beetles, too. It is used as a flame retardant and even used in nuclear power plants to regulate the fission of uranium. It is practically non-toxic to humans,

mammals, birds, fish, and many beneficial insects such as bees.

And, if all those Boric acid uses are not enough, it can be used to kill fire ants, spiders, cockroaches, fleas, termites, beetles, and silverfish in widely available pesticides. The boric acid sticks to the legs of the insect when coming in contact with it, then the insect ingests it when grooming. It also acts as an abrasive on their exoskeleton.

Boric acid works slowly, it takes three to ten days to kill an insect using boric acid. This can be a good thing because boric acid is often combined with a food attractant in baits. The insect will eat a little of the bait, the boric acid sticks to them, and they carry it back to their nest where it spreads to the other insects living there.

Boric acid is effective in killing termite, ant, and cockroach colonies. too. It is available as aerosols, liquids, granules, wettable powders, dusts, pellets, and in combination with other ingredients as in baits.

To treat against cockroaches the boric acid should be applied into cracks and crevices in the kitchen, bathroom, and basement. Sprinkle some under the fridge, oven, dishwasher, microwave, and washer and dryer. It can also be applied above cabinets or between cracks in shelves. Basically, dust the boric acid powder into the small places where the roaches might like to hide. Under the kitchen sink between the water pipes is another great place to put it to

prevent roaches.

Boric acid can be used to get rid of fleas by putting it into carpets and dog beds. By working the powder down into the carpet you can kill fleas and the flea eggs. Vacuum the carpets thoroughly before you apply it and leave it in for a couple of weeks. It won’t leave any stains.

One word of caution: Pregnant women should not use boric acid because of possible pregnancy complications. So, that means "heads up" on the following products: Flea Stoppers, Mop Up, Bora-Care, Jecta, Niban, and Timbor, plus others that contain boric acid. 

One more cool use of boric acid is utilized by jugglers and performing artists. When boric acid is combined with methanol it produces a bright green flame when it is burned. Just thought you would want to know this in case you were thinking about starting a flea circus and were looking for some great effects.

Ok, so that is Boric Acid. It's an all-around tool. Granted, it is not the fasting acting pesticide, but it is fairly safe for use around the house or in the garden.  As always, we urge you to carefully read the label of an insecticide and follow the directions.