Roaches are the most despised pest in the world. These disgusting insects are frequent intruders into homes because they thrive close to humans. So, finding a practical way of removing an infestation from your house is really important.
There are dozens of anecdotes claiming borax’s effectiveness in the fight against roaches, and you may have already heard them. But is borax genuinely successful in getting rid of these stubborn insects?
Let’s find out whether or not borax is a strong enough roach repellent to help you get rid of roaches without hiring a pest control company.
Can Borax Kill Roaches?
Borax is an effective way to kill roaches as it contains hydrogen and sodium borate salts. These elements can eliminate different types of bugs and insects, but they take some time to show their effects.
When cockroaches come in contact with the borax powder, their legs collect the dust they carry to their nests. As a result, other roaches also get infected with the powder and die after some time.
How Does Borax Kill Roaches?
Borax is an organic and safer insecticide alternative, but roaches do not consume it in plain serving. Instead, you’d need to combine the borax powder with some edibles that cockroaches love, such as honey, sugar, milk, peanut butter, etc.
Borax is an effective pesticide because it targets two primary operating systems of the roaches: the nervous and digestive systems.
Here is step by step of how the borax kills roaches:
- When roaches consume or come in contact with the borax, it harms these bugs’ neurological and digestive systems.
- The borax slowly kills the roach by sticking to its legs through static electricity – the same phenomenon that makes our hair stand up after rubbing a balloon on our head.
- When the roach body comes in contact with the borax, they get uncomfortable, trying to clean themselves by licking their body.
- After ingesting the white powder (borax) from licking their body, it poisons the entire stomach.
- The ‘sodium’ part of the borax penetrates the roaches exoskeleton and dehydration sets in.
- The sodium tetraborate slowly dries out the exoskeleton of roaches, suffocating them to death.
How to Use Borax to Instantly Kill Roaches?
An effective way to get rid of the roaches in your home is to use borax. It is used as a bait, mixed with an attractant that makes food, such as sugar, and placed in locations where the scavenger insects congregate. Later, cockroaches attract the trap and devour the insecticide-containing bait.
Borax is easily accessible, so you can often find it in the grocery store’s cleaning goods section. In addition, it is commonly available in granular form, making it easier to mix it with edibles to kill insects and pests.
Take a look at 4 different approaches to killing roaches with borax:
Combining Sugar
Sugar makes the perfect bait to kill cockroaches because these bugs love sweets. So combine equal parts of borax and sugar and sprinkle (or dust) on where these bugs are most likely to appear.
Using Baking Soda
To eradicate roaches, add baking soda to your borax trap. These baits may not attract sodium bicarbonate, but they may contribute to damaging their exoskeletons. When cockroaches consume baking soda and borax, the mixture causes a gas buildup that explodes their digestive tract.
With Milk
Cockroaches are particularly drawn to one meal homeowners typically keep in their refrigerator: milk. You will need to mix milk, sugar, and borax to create a powerful roach repellent. This powerful cockroach magnet creates a paste-based trick that adheres well to the roaches’ legs.
When they consume this mixture, they slowly die, infecting the roaches that eat or touch their bodies.
Make a Spray
Combine one tablespoon of borax powder and one cup of water and transfer the solution to a spray bottle. Then, shake it up and spray the roaches’ entrance and exit routes of your home to keep these bugs away.
Why is Borax so Effective to Kill Roaches?
Cockroaches like to groom themselves, so they don’t like the presence of borax on their body. They remove filth by constantly licking themselves and wiping it away with their saliva.
Cockroaches will inevitably consume the borax while doing this. Once they do, borax absorbs into bug bodies and kills them slowly.
Although this truth may disturb you, cockroaches even eat one another if nothing else is available. When a cockroach dies after coming in contact with borax and another roach consumes the corpse, it dies immediately.
Is Borax Acid Safe to Use?
Borax can be used to reduce cockroach infestations, but it must be handled carefully, especially in the presence of dogs or young children. That is because they may mistake this white powder for food and ingest it.
Borax can cause health issues, despite being an effective compound against cockroaches. Prolonged exposure to borax powder may irritate the respiratory tract of humans and pets when inhaled.
People who consume the powder accidentally may also experience digestive issues. So it is strongly advised to seek emergency medical assistance if this occurs.
Is It Painful to Kill Roaches with Borax?
No, it is not painful to kill roaches with borax. Most people assume that killing a cockroach with borax can be extremely painful. However, that’s not true. Bugs, insects, and especially roaches don’t have pain receptors, meaning they do not feel pain or emotions.
Safety Precautions to Take When Using Borax to Kill Roaches
Borax is quite an affordable and readily-available ingredient, but you must consider some safety precautions before using it. No one way can give you instant results, so you must try different methods with borax to find your “go-to” roach-killing strategy.
Here are some important safety precautions to follow when using borax:
- Avoid using too much borax as it is harmful to your health
- If possible, wear rubber gloves when using borax
- Avoid letting the compound close to your eyes
- Keep borax away from the areas where you keep your food items
- Despite being a naturally occurring mineral, borax is not suitable for consumption by humans, children, or animals. So, keep borax out of your families, friends, pets, and your reach.
- To achieve more effective outcomes, frequently dust new amounts of the mixture.
- Use the powder version rather than the spray since it works better
- Always sprinkle a thin layer of borax powder on high-roach places to prevent these bugs from detecting it.
- Use borax with dry combinations
FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Kill a Roach From Borax?
Borax typically takes 2-3 days to kill the roaches completely. A cockroach that comes in contact with the borax doesn’t die immediately. Instead, it returns to its hiding place and licks the borax their leg has picked up. On the other hand, if you use boric acid, roaches consume it and die instantly.
Is Borax Safe for Humans?
No, borax is not safe for humans, as inhaling it can cause headaches, allergies, nausea, and vomiting. When dealing with this compound, make sure you take the necessary safety measures, such as:
- Wearing hand gloves
- Avoid inhaling it
- Don’t let it touch your body or clothes
Can Borax Kill Roach’s Eggs?
Borax or boric acid can’t kill roaches’ eggs since they are primarily tricky to reach. Their eggs are present deep inside the colonies, usually in the nooks and crannies of your home, like wall cracks, window crevices, and gaps in appliances. Hence, it is only effective at killing young and adult cockroaches.
Can I Use Borax Spray to Kill Roaches?
You can make your own pest control spray by mixing equal amounts of sugar, borax, and water. Spraying the mixture on areas where you have seen roaches can kill them.
Conclusion
You can use numerous methods to kill cockroaches with borax, but remember that it can cause health issues in humans and pets alike.
The best way to kill roaches is to trick them into eating borax. So, mix the powder with the bugs’ favorite foods, such as sugar, milk, starch, etc. Boric acid doesn’t kill roaches suddenly but takes a few days to release its insect-killing effects.
Here are some tips to kill roaches from borax successfully:
- Make sugar traps with borax
- Use a light dusting of borax powder. Do not powder too much.
- Consider making a dry mixture with borax
- Replace your baits once a week