Cockroaches are the most ancient insects. When they settle in apartments and houses, they bring many problems to people. Therefore, many chemical and folk remedies have been invented to combat them. The most effective of the latter is boric acid. It is a strong poison for cockroaches, but is absolutely safe for humans.
Killer balls
Boric acid has no taste or smell, which is why the cockroach will not pay attention to it and will not eat it. It is advisable to add the product to products whose aroma attracts insects. Along with food, poison will also enter the cockroach’s body. It doesn't matter what you use as the basis for your bait. The main thing is that insects “like” it and have a sticky texture.
Classic egg
Peculiarities. This is the most common means by which residents of communal apartments and dormitories were saved in Soviet times. If you react in time to the appearance of “uninvited guests,” you can quickly get rid of an unpleasant problem.
You will need:
- 50 g boric acid;
- egg yolk.
How to do
- Mix the yolk with the powder.
- If the mass turns out to be liquid, add more boric acid or thicken the mixture with flour.
- Form balls and place them around the room.
You can use boiled yolk to make balls. You need to add a few drops of vegetable oil or kefir to the composition, which will allow the balls to remain soft longer.
Alternative Recipes
Boric acid with eggs is not the only poison option. You can prepare the product at your own discretion, or you can use ready-made recipes. The table shows tested product combinations. Each recipe uses 50 g of a toxic substance.
Table - Recipes for boric acid balls against cockroaches
| Name | Additional components |
| Sugar | - 50 g sugar; - 50 g flour; - water (to bring the composition to the consistency of dough) |
| Potato | - Boiled potatoes; - boiled yolk |
| Yeast | 50 g natural yeast |
| Cereals | - A tablespoon of any porridge; - raw yolk |
| Dairy | - 50 g cookies; - milk (to soak cookies) |
| Curd | Tablespoon of cottage cheese |
| Meat | Tablespoon of any minced meat |
| Honey | — A tablespoon of honey or jam; - 30 g white bread pulp |
*** Each recipe uses 50 g of boric acid.
Pharmacies sell borax, a salt of boric acid. It is also destructive to insects, which makes it possible to use it to prepare cockroach repellents. The proportions remain unchanged.
The rise of the cockroach wave
The increase in the number of cockroaches is characterized by their wave-like population growth. A large number of cockroaches and their growth were observed in the 90s, and then with the help of effective drugs at that time their number decreased significantly.
And now there is a new wave of growth of cockroaches, there is no escape from them, since they can get through the cracks of entrance doors, move from one apartment to another using sewer and water pipes for passage.
They seem to be the same, cockroach and cockroach))) only these are completely different Prussians, more perfect creatures. At the genetic level, they are more resistant to the poisons of the last century and are not afraid of them at all.
Cockroaches quickly mutate and get used to any poison very quickly; in scientific terms this is called the development of resistance. They only need two weeks to develop the antidote.
And now the poisons that were previously effective have stopped getting into the cockroaches. Their nervous system, due to mutation, “learned” to be impenetrable to poisons.
The surviving cockroaches pass on such changes to their children and resistance increases; as a result of such changes, cockroaches can be resistant to several types of poison.
You can meet cockroaches everywhere, as they say, from Moscow to the outskirts. Four types of cockroaches have settled in Russia: red ones - so to speak, Prussians, the most common, American cockroaches, furniture and black ones, all these species are not much different from red ones.
Poison in its purest form
If you don’t have enough time to prepare the balls, you can simplify the task and use the product in its pure form. Insects are unlikely to eat the tasteless powder, but the particles will stick to their legs. When the cockroach begins to clean them with its jaws, it will swallow the poison. You need to scatter boric acid where insects go, namely:
- near the sink, toilet, bathtub;
- along the baseboards;
- under cabinets, bedside tables, tables (especially in the kitchen);
- next to the refrigerator, stove;
- near pipelines;
- around the trash can.
To ensure that as many insects as possible come into contact with the poison, you need to scatter the powder in thin paths. If you sprinkle the substance in a heap, most cockroaches will remain unharmed.
Operating principle
Not a single insect of the Prussian species likes this poison. To be poisoned by it, the poison must be eaten or touched with the antennae. The product is really very effective. The acid enters the esophagus, then into the nervous system, which leads to irritation of peripheral nerves, suffocation and death. Therefore, when preparing baits, it is advisable to make them more attractive to insects. This will create a desire to swallow them. There are a lot of recipes today. And you don’t have to add vanilla, flour, or eggs to attract the Prussians.
Often it is simply enough to scatter it in those places where there are accumulations of them, as well as near water sources, near baseboards, near the sink, in the corners of cabinets. And if the cabinets are old, cockroaches like to settle in the corners. Even if the pest simply walks over the poison for it, it will remain on its paws. And when he cleans them, he will still swallow them. And the consequences will not take long to arrive.
Ants in the apartment. Methods for removing boric acid.
If you add an acid solution to different baits, it can give the desired effect. To poison one parasite, just a few milligrams are enough. In pharmacies you can buy the powder in ten gram packs. Therefore, we can conclude that one bag will be enough to kill an entire army of cockroaches. But in reality, you will need to use more than just one bag. A lot of powder is wasted, since the Prussians may not encounter it.
The same remedy can get rid of ants, but acid is useless against bedbugs. Boric acid is often used today, so there are cases where it is not very effective. The reason for this is its improper use, or the resistance of insects to poison. In this case, modern means should be used in addition.
Poisonous water
Cockroaches cannot live without water, so they regularly appear near sources of life-giving moisture. This is the bathroom and kitchen. Poisoned drinking bowls should be placed near the bathtub, toilet or sink. Dissolve a teaspoon of sugar in half a glass of water. Add 30 g of boric acid. Pour the poison into saucers or nylon lids. Place drinking bowls near plumbing fixtures.
If insects are accustomed to drinking from a sink, then they will go to it, bypassing the drinking bowl with poison. To force a cockroach to drink poisoned water, you need to eliminate other sources of moisture. Wash the plumbing fixtures, wipe them dry and limit their use.
Opinions
Reviews on the use of boric acid to control cockroaches:
- “I decided to poison the cockroaches with boric acid when I saw the first “guests.” I made the balls, laid them out and was surprised! A few days later I noticed the first five victims. Other cockroaches also decreased their activity. In the end, everyone died."
- “A good proven remedy, but not if there are already a lot of cockroaches. I used acid as a holistic measure and I think it helped too. It’s not for nothing that my grandmother recommended it to me.”
Fight cockroaches with proven methods!
Subtleties of application
For boric acid to work, you need to use it correctly. Cockroaches are cunning and tenacious insects that require a serious approach. Many years of experience of housewives allows us to highlight seven significant points in the fight against “uninvited guests.”
- Maintain perfect cleanliness. Before you start a war with cockroaches, you need to do a thorough cleaning of your apartment. Wash all visible surfaces and hard-to-reach places (behind cabinets, under furniture, etc.).
- Eliminate other foods. In order for the poison to be noticed and eaten, the insects must have no other food. Close the trash can tightly, put all food in plastic bags and in the refrigerator.
- Remove the water. If cockroaches have free access to clean water, boric acid may not work. It will be washed out of the insect's body. You need to wipe the bathtub, sinks, pipes dry, and keep the toilet lid closed. Hide wet sponges and rags in plastic bags. Also, remove indoor flowers from their usual place or limit watering for a while.
- Find the right place. The peak activity of cockroaches occurs at night. To figure out where the insects are hiding, enter the room where they were spotted at night and turn on the light. Watch where the cockroaches will run - these are their hiding places, next to which you need to lay out the poison.
- Get attention. Cockroaches are inquisitive creatures. To increase the likelihood of an insect coming into contact with the trap, try to make it bright or place it on a piece of colored cardboard.
- Don't relax. Even if cockroaches have not been seen for several days, this is not a reason to relax.
- Update your traps. Ball traps need to be changed at intervals of one to two days. A cockroach will not eat dried bait.
Prevention of re-infection
The best prevention is keeping the room clean. Mustachioed visitors will never disturb you with their presence if you put food in the refrigerator on time, do not leave dirty dishes “overnight” in the sink, and regularly take out the trash. Do not allow faucets to leak, periodically inspect the walls and flooring for cracks and holes where there may be pest eggs, carry out wet cleaning of surfaces, this way you will protect yourself and your loved ones as much as possible from uninvited guests.
Danger to household members
Boric acid is not toxic to people and animals. If your pet accidentally swallows the bait, you don’t have to worry about his health. If a child finds and tastes the ball, there will be no serious consequences for his health. But it is better to avoid such cases.
The safety of boric acid can be confirmed by the fact that the substance was previously used to disinfect open wounds. But due to the increasing incidence of allergic reactions, doctors abandoned this technique. Despite all the positive characteristics, it is better for some groups of people to limit contact with the substance, namely:
- children under three years old;
- pregnant and lactating women;
- patients with renal failure;
- patients with inflammation of the skin.
Nausea, vomiting, headache and rash are the main side effects of boric acid. If your family has similar symptoms, you should immediately perform a gastric lavage, remove all traps and ventilate the room well.
Where to buy poison?
Boric acid is a product that will not be difficult to find in any pharmacy in your city. In addition, it is very easy to purchase on the Internet, where you can essentially buy anything you want.
If you have a large apartment or house, you will need about five sachets for maximum effect. The cost of one is about 40-50 rubles. Consequently, even for a large room you will spend no more than 250 rubles, which is much cheaper than special products that are dangerous for humans.
To purchase it, you do not need any prescription from a doctor, and therefore anyone can buy it in any quantity that you require.
Source
Reasons why the product does not work
There are often cases when boric acid does not help remove cockroaches. There may be five main reasons.
- Addiction. Insects are poisoned with this drug so often that they develop resistance.
- Incomplete coverage. There is always a chance that some cockroaches will avoid the poison. They can find alternative sources of food and water that no one is aware of.
- Unsanitary conditions. Boric acid will only help if the room is kept clean. Otherwise, the cockroach will not touch the poison, because it already has enough food sources.
- Unclean neighbors. If the insects came from neighbors, no matter how much they are poisoned, the number will not decrease. It is necessary to block cockroaches' access to your home. Cover the ventilation holes with mesh and fill the cracks in the walls.
- Eggs. Boric acid has no effect on cockroach eggs. The product only works against adults.
If there are too many cockroaches, boric acid will be useless. Some insects will be poisoned, while the rest will calmly walk around the house and reproduce. In this case, aggressive chemistry cannot be avoided.
Do not relax if you have not seen any “guests” for several days after treatment. To ensure that insects no longer bother you, pay enough attention to prevention. Keep your home perfectly clean. Once or twice a month, place boron baits in the most “dangerous” places.
The effect of boric acid on cockroaches
Uncontrolled use of the substance can cause burns and severe irritation of the mucous membrane.
The crystalline powder has an antiseptic effect. The product can be an additive to alcohol solutions that enhance the antimicrobial effect. Have you encountered cockroaches in your home?
Not really
The entry of powder into the pest’s body provokes the following processes :
- water is partially bound in the tissues and the body becomes dehydrated;
- Spermogenesis occurs in males and they become sterile;
- flora, fungi and bacteria are completely destroyed, and the sense of smell is impaired.
How is the processing carried out?
In order for the insect to eat the poisoned ball, all the food must be removed. Before laying out the bait, you need to clear the room of debris and dust. Balls or solution are placed in the favorite places of cockroaches, which are usually:
- back of furniture;
- cracks and crevices, peeling wallpaper;
- all the space around the refrigerator and cabinets where food is stored;
- legs of kitchen tables and chairs;
- area near the trash can.
It should be borne in mind that even if the colony is completely destroyed, there is a high risk of re-infection. Therefore, boric acid should be placed in dark, hard-to-reach places for some time as a preventive measure.
