Chemistry is a very dangerous science, which in the hands of an experienced chemist will become a formidable weapon against insects. However, it is better to start fighting cockroaches using less dangerous methods. One of these is boric acid. Its most important advantages are accessibility and ease of use. This product is also time-tested and is always used when an apartment is infested with cockroaches.
Poison recipes
The easiest way is to scatter the substance along pipes, cabinets, baseboards and on high shelves.
However, the effectiveness of this method is questionable, since cockroaches may not eat boric acid powder. To achieve the desired result, it is worth preparing a special bait based on the specified chemical insecticide.
Please note: the powder or solution itself must be used as the leading component. Other forms of boric acid are not suitable. For example, an alcohol tincture will only repel insects with a sharp, specific smell. Methods of using the product may vary.
How to make boric acid balls with egg
Typically, boric acid is used in conjunction with an egg (both raw and boiled). From the resulting mass, cockroach balls are rolled and placed in suitable places.
There are many recipes for preparing poison, but almost every one, except for the main component, contains an egg. Sometimes these two components are combined with an additional product that makes the bait even more attractive to insects.
Recipe with boiled yolk
The easiest recipe to prepare. It is necessary to mix boric acid with a hard-boiled egg. Only the yolk is used for bait, since its bright color attracts cockroaches very well.
If the mass does not stick well, you can dilute it slightly with water (sour cream, kefir or butter). Roll the pulp into balls and place them in places where insects crawl.
Recipe with boiled and raw yolk
Cockroach balls can be prepared by mixing boric acid with raw and boiled eggs.
The boiled egg yolk acts as a visual lure in this recipe. Its smell will force the insect to try the prepared poison.
The white of a raw egg can be used as a paste, which will perfectly hold the balls together and prevent them from falling apart after drying.
Recipe with vegetable oil and egg yolk
To prepare this bait you will need:
- boiled yolk.
- Boric acid powder (40 g or 4 sachets weighing 10 g each).
- 1 tsp. sunflower oil.
First, you should thoroughly mash the yolk with a fork. Then add the remaining ingredients, stir the entire mixture thoroughly until smooth. Roll small balls (5-7 mm in diameter) from the resulting boron mass against cockroaches.
With potatoes
If the area to be treated is large, you can prepare bait with poison, eggs and potatoes.
For this you will need:
- potatoes, boiled with peel (1 pc.).
- Hard-boiled egg yolk (1 pc.).
- Kefir.
- Boric powder (40-50 g).
It is necessary to mix all the components, if necessary, slightly diluting with kefir to the desired consistency. Roll the resulting mass into balls and place them in suitable places.
With minced meat
This is another way to poison cockroaches using boric acid.
Meat products are very loved by many insects. Even the lowest quality product is excellent for preparing poisonous bait.
Form balls from a mixture of minced meat, boron powder and raw egg. Place in pre-selected places where children or pets cannot reach the poison. The presence of an egg in the bait will not allow it to dry out or lose its designated shape.
With bread
Usually bread only attracts insects, but in combination with boric acid it plays the role of an excellent poison in the fight against cockroaches.
It is necessary to mix boric acid powder and bread crumb, then add a raw egg to the mixture. If the mixture is too thick, it can be diluted with water until a homogeneous paste is obtained. Form walnut-sized balls from the resulting mixture and place them in areas where cockroaches gather.
With flour
If you don’t want to roll cockroach balls out of boric acid, you can use a dry version of the bait.
For these purposes, you will need to mix the main component with flour, which will significantly weaken the specific smell of poison. Pour the resulting mixture onto pieces of paper and place in suitable places.
The effectiveness of the technique is enhanced if it is used together with other chemicals, for example, special gels.
Liquid bait with sugar
To prepare such bait, you must do the following:
- mix the yolk of a raw egg and 40-50 gr. boron powder.
- Add 2-3 tbsp. l. sugar and stir until smooth.
If necessary, you can pour in a little water to thin it out, or vice versa, mix in flour if the consistency is too runny.
Liquid boric acid will help eliminate cockroaches. You must first dilute the solution with water, and then treat the floor surface, high shelves, etc. with it.
Important: if there are small children in the house, it is necessary to regularly wash their hands and all toys to prevent intoxication.
Poisoning of cockroaches can only be carried out if there is no food or food waste left in the room. Dishes, table and floors must be washed, garbage taken out, drinks poured out. Then the insects will begin to eat the bait, which will lead to their further death.
With sunflower oil
Sunflower oil bait will attract more insects than any other bait. To make the aroma of the poison more noticeable, it is better to use unrefined oil that smells like seeds.
To prepare poison for cockroaches, you need to mix a solution of boric acid (or substance powder) with any food mass. Not only an egg will do, but also crushed potatoes, porridge chopped in a blender, leftover soup or fatty cottage cheese. Vegetable oil will allow all the components to “glue” together, so the balls will not lose moisture and will keep their shape perfectly.
Please note: you can replace sunflower oil with sesame oil.
Instructions for use
Algorithm of actions:
- Of course, the first thing to do is buy a bag of acid at the pharmacy. Then carefully prepare for the expulsion of the mustachioed guests. Dry the sink, limiting the cockroaches' access to water. Close the taps tightly enough to avoid the slightest possibility of leakage. Hide all wet wipes and sponges. Next, spread the bait in places where Prussians mainly live.
There are many recipes for its preparation. A mixture of boric acid and yolk is very often used - it helps against cockroaches. To prepare the bait, it is customary to use only the yolk. It helps remove the smell of acid and stimulates the appetite of pests. Although it seems to a person that the drug does not smell of anything, thanks to its subtle sense of smell, the cockroach will smell it. Let's look at some simple ways to prepare deadly treats for unwanted neighbors.
The mechanism of action of boric acid on cockroaches
The areas of application of boric acid are varied:
- agronomic industry.
- Cosmetology.
- Medicine (as an antiseptic or as a means to combat fungal infection).
- Etc.
To understand whether boric acid will help against cockroaches, you need to understand how it works.
The mechanism of insect damage is as follows:
- When it enters the esophagus, the acid corrodes its walls.
- If the prepared bait is eaten by a male, he is completely sterilized.
- In the case of females, the acid attacks their ovaries.
Lethal outcome is achieved through dehydration of the cockroach.
Please note: the death of insects occurs 10-12 days after they eat the poison. This scatter in time is due to the cumulative efficiency of boric acid.
The impact on cockroaches can be not only intestinal, but also contact. In the latter case, the poison gets into the spiracles and onto the chitinous covers. In terms of effectiveness, this method is significantly inferior to the above.
Advantages and disadvantages
The constant advantage is the low price of borax. A person with any income can afford such a product. The recipes are also easy to prepare. For a small number of Prussians, this control option will be effective in getting rid of random individuals. However, in the event of a massive invasion, this remedy will be ineffective. Therefore, it is necessary to combine it with other effective insecticides: gels, aerosols, concentrates.
The main disadvantage is the danger of using the powder in a house where there are children or animals.
Processing rules
It is necessary to process the room taking into account some nuances.
Instructions for using homemade poison are as follows:
- prevent insects from accessing food and food waste (wash dishes and stoves in a timely manner, take out trash, pack food in sealed containers).
- Eliminate humidity as much as possible, since the poisonous effect of the bait on the insect’s body is reduced by drinking water.
- Prevent possible contact with the bait by pets and small children.
- Re-treat the area after a couple of weeks to kill any cockroaches that have hatched from previously laid eggs.
When placing poison bait around the apartment, you should definitely do a thorough cleaning. While fighting cockroaches, it is necessary to systematically maintain absolute cleanliness.
Operating principle
Boric acid is a chemical compound that can cause severe poisoning if it gets inside the body. Sodium borax salt in the form of crystalline powder is actively used against cockroaches. Once inside an insect, it corrodes internal organs, destroys the nervous system and leads to paralysis. After several hours of suffering, the cockroach dies.
On a note!
Boric acid powder is dangerous to human and pet health. It is recommended to fight cockroaches with borax only in areas where there are no small children or pets.
Borax is tasteless and odorless; in its pure form it is rarely used against pests. Prussians may accidentally get into the powder scattered on the surface. To increase the interest of cockroaches in the chemical, it is mixed with foods whose smell will attract them. Wiping the favorite places of cockroaches with a solution of salt and water will also help kill them.
Advantages and disadvantages
The use of this substance in the fight against cockroaches has many advantages:
- affordable cost of all components of the bait.
- High performance.
- Exposure leading to sterilization and death of insects.
- Lack of habituation in cockroaches.
- Ease of preparation and further disposal of bait.
- No unpleasant odor or harmful fumes.
In addition to the positive qualities, this technique also has negative sides.
Here they are:
- the effect is cumulative, i.e. The death of cockroaches occurs after a while.
- The effects of the poison do not extend to eggs already laid by the female.
Despite its disadvantages, boric acid is considered one of the most effective methods for killing cockroaches. In addition, insects inevitably develop an addiction to purchased chemicals over time.
Characteristics of the substance
Boric acid is available in the form of a white powder without taste or odor. Its reserves in nature are relatively limited. It has been used by mankind for a long time as a good antiseptic, however, due to the frequent manifestations of allergic reactions, it was abandoned and safer drugs began to be used.
However, boric acid is still widely used against cockroaches today. Due to this spread, there are increasingly cases where pests are no longer sensitive to its effects. That is why, when deciding to use this method of insect control, you must be prepared for a less than 100% result.
Despite this, many people continue to look for information on how to poison cockroaches with boric acid. At the moment, there are several very effective methods that can provide good results, provided that the product is used correctly.
Prevention of re-infestation by cockroaches
Prepared bait does not guarantee continued existence without insects. To prevent the reappearance of cockroaches in the apartment, it is necessary to take certain preventive measures.
Here they are:
- prevent the possible penetration of cockroaches through ventilation, windows, drain holes (install grilles with small cells, close drains, treat windows with sealants, etc.).
- Clean the apartment regularly, throw out trash, do not leave dirty dishes in the sink or on the table, wipe up crumbs.
- Avoid leaking taps and other plumbing fixtures, as excessive moisture only attracts insects.
- Regularly treat premises with insecticides (it is best to poison cockroaches with the onset of summer).
Living in a private house greatly simplifies the process of getting rid of unpleasant insects. If cockroaches appear in the apartment, the fight against them must be systematic.
Effect on the human body
Boric acid is harmless to humans, which is its main advantage. The product for controlling cockroaches can be used indoors where there are small children and pets, but in compliance with safety rules. The insecticidal substance is harmful if ingested uncontrollably. The lethal dose for an adult is 20 g, for children – 4 g.
When working with the drug, you should wear rubber gloves; the use of a respirator or masks is not mandatory. After contact with boric acid, you should wash your hands well with soap.
On a note!
A mixture of boric alcohol, salicylic acid, and chloramphenicol is used to combat pimples and acne. A powerful antiseptic kills harmful microorganisms and increases the skin's protective reaction. Therefore, if the insecticide gets on the skin, you should not be afraid of an allergic rash or irritation.
Other effective folk remedies - analogues
Borax is used to control cockroaches. The substance in powder form is obtained by mixing boric acid with baking soda. It is actively used in everyday life, cosmetology, medicine, and the food industry as a preservative. The application against cockroaches is similar - they are scattered in the form of paths, sprayed on furniture, and poisonous baits are prepared.
The mixture with glycerin is used to treat baseboards, furniture on the back side, legs, water pipes, pipes, sink counters, washbasins, and toilets. The properties of borax are not reduced, glycerin holds the substance in the desired position and does not allow it to crumble. Sticky glycerin with borax powder clings better to the legs and body of the cockroach, increasing the effectiveness of the poison.
Effectiveness of anti-cockroach product
Cockroaches, like many other parasites, perceive boron powder as a strong poison. The substance enters the insect’s digestive organs and subsequently affects the peripheral nervous system. If the lethal dosage is exceeded, the pest develops paralysis and dies from asphyxia.
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As a result, for a cockroach to die, it must eat the poison, and the dose must be significant in relation to the weight of the pest. In this regard, any drug with powdered boric acid against cockroaches is prepared so that the insects eat it.
How to kill cockroaches with boric acid? It is not always necessary to mix eggs, flour, vanillin or other components with boric acid in order to attract cockroaches with the aroma and taste of the poison. Sometimes you can simply sprinkle the substance on areas of maximum concentration of parasites - along baseboards, along the edges of furniture, near sewer drains. Running along paths, the pest picks up poison on chitin. When cleaning the shell, involuntary ingestion of the substance will occur, which will ultimately lead to the death of the insect. Boron powder in liquid form is also quite effective in exterminating parasites when used as a component of edible “bait.”
To poison one insect, you only need 2–3 mg of the substance. As a result, a package of 10 grams of the substance helps to destroy a significant number of pests. Although practice has proven that to exterminate parasites, a significantly larger volume of poisonous powder will be needed, since cockroaches do not even encounter most of the product on their way.
In addition to cockroaches, the substance helps in the fight against house ants. But such a remedy is useless for eliminating house bugs, because these insects feed only by sucking blood through their proboscis. So the poison does not affect bedbugs.
Today, boric acid is used frequently and everywhere, so people often complain about the ineffectiveness of the substance. This is due to improper use of the drug; the pest does not form a habit of the substance. However, in such cases, you need to think about exterminating pests using other, more effective drugs.
Useful tips
To increase the effectiveness of boric acid in the fight against domestic insects, we recommend using the following useful tips:
- A cockroach that has been poisoned by drinking water can cleanse its body and remain alive. Therefore, it is necessary to completely limit access to the premises of water. You can outwit the Prussians and dissolve boric acid in water. Then containers with this liquid should be placed in places where pests like to hide and move.
- Cockroaches are attracted to anything bright. You can take this fact into account and make the bait look more eye-catching by adding food coloring to it. The insect will certainly pay attention to it and will not be able to pass by.
