The boric acid is a substance that serves as an insecticide treatment for cockroaches and ants, but it also has foot properties. It is a chemical compound with antiseptic properties. It has the ability to retard flames and regulate the pH, keeping it constant—acting as a buffer. In its mineral form, it is known as sassolite.
What is boric acid
It is an irritant compound for humans. It damages the tissues of living beings. Boric acid is a mineral that is distributed in the form of small white crystals. When you go to the store to buy it, it is crushed for easy use.
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What is it used for
Known for being discovered in Italy, boric acid or Sassolite has the chemical formula H3BO3. It has various applications, but the most known is the one used at home to kill cockroaches. However, it has more applications and uses, so here we describe what boric acid is used for:
- Foliar fertilizer.
- Eliminate foot odor.
- Insecticide for cockroaches and ants.
- Disinfectant.
- pH stabilizer.
Killing cockroaches with boric acid
This is a very effective remedy as it is capable of eradicating a plague in a short time. Killing cockroaches with boric acid is quite simple, cheap, and can be done at home with ease. To do this, follow these steps:
- Add 100 ml of water and two tablespoons of boric acid or borax.
- Use the mixture to soak some pieces of bread that you will leave in corners or places where you know there are cockroaches.
- You should wait 24 hours for the poison to take effect. After eating some of the bait soaked with the liquid acid, the cockroaches will die.
- Repeat the process for several days to ensure that all the cockroaches eat the bread and will soon disappear.
- Clean the area where they die. You can sweep or wipe if it is a piece of furniture or a high spot. Use gloves to avoid touching the boric acid that may have impregnated the surfaces.
This way, you will get rid of the cockroach infestation in a few days. Each cockroach that eats the food will die in a few hours.
Boric acid powder for cockroaches
Another way to make a homemade cockroach insecticide is to buy boric acid powder and mix it with sugar. The final result is very good and attracts insects very well. This makes them eat the poison and die in a short time. The way to create a homemade cockroach insecticide is very simple:
- Add 3 parts of boric acid or borax if you don’t have the first one, as they have similar properties.
- Add 1 part of sugar.
- Mix the two substances well and sprinkle them in areas where you know the insects pass or might find it suitable to feed on.
- Wait between 24 and 48 hours.
The sugar will attract the insects due to its high energy content, and the boric acid will act on their exoskeleton fulfilling the purpose we want, to eliminate the cockroaches from the house.
Ants
The way to use the ant remedy is identical. You should monitor the places where these formicidae insects come out or pass by, place small pieces of bread with the mixture so that the worker ants will take them back to the anthill.
Once they introduce the pieces inside, they will feed the queen ant, and in one or two days, it will die. This will cause the colony to break up and disappear from your house.
For foot odor
In addition to being an effective remedy against cockroach, ant, and pigeon plagues, it can be used to kill fungi that cause feet to smell bad. In this sense, boric acid for feet eliminates bad odor thanks to its fungicidal and antiseptic properties. To do this, you should:
- Sprinkle some powder inside the shoes, on top of the insoles. This will reduce the fungi and, therefore, the bad odor will disappear.
You should be careful not to leave any residue on the floor that may come into contact with children and pets as it is toxic. Also, if you want to improve the health of the soles of your feet and the spaces between your toes, you should use boric acid in a fresh and ventilated shoe, which will make your feet sweat less when walking or exercising. Always wear cotton or natural fabric socks and air the shoes overnight for better results with boric acid to eliminate foot fungi.
Another way to use boric acid for feet
To improve the sensation and eliminate foot odor, you can also dilute a small amount—between 50 and 60 grams—in water and soak your feet for a few minutes. This will kill the fungi by preventing them from breathing and producing bad odor.
Now that you know what boric acid is used for and how to use it as an insecticide for cockroaches and ants, let’s see where you can buy it in different sizes and weights.
Side effects and contraindications
- Diarrhea.
- Vomiting.
- Dermatitis.
- Kidney damage.
- Blood circulation collapse.
- Death.
- Pregnancy.
- Breastfeeding.
Whenever it is used, care must be taken not to ingest it as it can be very toxic and cause very serious side effects from boric acid.
When using it at home, avoid having children or pets nearby as they might touch any surface with residue and ingest it.
It should not be applied to the skin of infants and babies to avoid undesirable effects. Instead, other remedies and medicinal substances with lower toxicity and the same benefits can be used.
Orthoboric acid, is it the same?
It is a slightly acidic chemical compound. It has antiseptic and insecticidal properties and is referred to as “orthoboric acid” or “boric” interchangeably.
Orthoboric acid can be found in pharmacies. It is available over the counter and comes in small white crystals, in powder form, which dissolves upon contact with water. Its formula is H3BO3, and it comes from the same mineral called sassolite.
The name orthoboric acid is less common; the most common is to buy it as pharmacy boric acid, and stores and companies sell it under this name.
As for the properties and effects, there is no difference as they are the same. It is a white poisonous powder, commonly used as an insecticide.
Where to buy boric acid
It is relatively easy to acquire as it is available in many stores, both in supermarkets, online pharmacies, and traditional stores.
The container with boric powder comes in sizes of 500 g or 1 kg, although there are also other sizes such as 250 grams, or if you want to buy boric acid for feet in 50 or 60 g packets, depending on the brand.
Excellent explanation, very clear.