We’ve all heard about the harmful effects of commercial pesticides. But if you encounter cockroaches flying off the walls, those harmful effects don’t seem so harmful as we bomb our homes with them. Then before we knew it, we started having headaches. It doesn’t have to be like this. There are alternative solutions from Mother Nature that are cleaner, safer, and work better.
This natural alternative is boric acid. It is considered a special nature of insect control. Boric acid is a white powder that is usually extracted from California’s Mojave Desert. Although it is also used as a preservative and fire retardant, it has been shown to kill almost all of the common household annoying pests such as cockroaches, water bugs, ants, silverfish, termites, and saw palmetto bugs and keep them away for a very long time. It also works against fire ants, bedbugs, fleas, beetles, centipedes, millipedes, crickets, grasshoppers and many more. One of the best qualities of borates is that insects are not resistant to them, unlike chemical pesticides.
Borates were first used as a pesticide in 1922 with the invention of the “Roach tablet” by PF Harris. In 1955, a Newfoundland lumber company began treating its lumber with borates to combat termites. It turns out that all of the homes with the treated wood were free of termites and wood rot. This worked so well that by 1985 there were more than 200 insecticides containing borates. This later turned into many of the products we see today.
Aside from being odorless and non-staining, boric acid and its derivatives are inexpensive and deadly to all insects. It works by attacking the bugs’ nervous system and then dehydrates their bodies. Borates, when used with chemical solvents such as propylene glycol, can be applied to wood and concrete providing long-term protection. Boric acid products are very safe to use on babies (it has also been used in some salves and ointments for diaper rash in babies). Plus, it also converts into an eyewash when diluted properly. Borate is also used as an effective fire retardant which is used in blown type cellulose insulation which is common in homes.
When used against ants, one tablespoon of boric acid is mixed with one teaspoon of sugar and four ounces of water in a bowl. This is then poured over cotton balls and placed on the path of the ants. Water frequently when dry. For crickets, mix 8 ounces of boric acid powder, 1/2 cup of flour, 1/8 cup of sugar, 1/2 of a small onion, diced, and 1/4 cup of cooking oil. Mix all these ingredients well adding more oil if required to make a smooth paste. Take the dough and roll it into small balls the size of a marble. Place the balls in places where cockroaches usually stay, such as damp, dark corners. The rest of the dough should be placed in open sandwich bags to retain softness. When the balls are dry and hard, replace them with new dough. Make sure that no pets or children come into contact with the balls as they can be very toxic.
For termites, use boric acid mixed with propylene glycol, which is a non-toxic version of antifreeze. In this solution, the glycol helps the borates to penetrate the wood and thus become part of the wood fibres. This has proven very successful against termites and is also an effective dry rot treatment in wood.