Billie Karel Thursday, October 23, 2008

Environment

Toxic Free NC Tip of the Week: Roaches

I had my crawlspace insulated and sealed a couple months ago. The good news is that I’ll have much lower energy bills this winter, and my crawlspace is now pretty inhospitable to pests like rodents, termites and other insects. The bad news is that some cockroaches migrated north from my now-inhospitable crawlspace into my kitchen. Gross! I tried just keeping the kitchen really clean for a while, but I was still getting cockroaches scuttling across my counter the way they do…..ugh. So, a couple weeks ago I mixed up some roach balls according to a recipe Toxic Free NC has been recommending for years, and its working beautifully!

Toxic-Free Borax Roach Balls

1 cup borax powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup minced onion
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 - 2 Tbsp. water

Make a paste of the ingredients and roll into little balls. Put 2 or 3 balls in each of several sandwich baggies and leave them open. Put a baggie on its side in any out-of-the-way spot where roaches are likely to find it, like in the back of cabinets or underneath appliances. The roaches will eat some of the borax mixture and carry it home to their nests, where they will feed it to their friends, and they’ll all end up dead. Borax is safe to handle, though inhaling it in large amounts can irritate the respiratory tract, so be careful when you’re mixing it up. Because it is not a nerve poison, roaches will never become resistant to borax roach balls!

Get more at ToxicFreeNC.org

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Read More: Environment, Other posts by Billie Karel.

Filed Under: Environment, Toxic-Free

  • Isaac10/24 07:42 AM

    Is Borax harmful to pets (ie dogs)?

  • roi10/24 10:35 AM

    Where do you buy borax?

  • Deb10/24 11:55 AM

    I’m pretty sure Borax is not harmful for pets unless it is ingested in large amounts. Check the box to verify.

    You can buy Borax at Target, and probably other discount stores and grocery stores. It is technically a laundry detergent.

  • Billie Karel10/24 08:54 PM

    Hey guys! Borax is available at any regular grocery store in the laundry aisle. It is safe for pets, though if your pets eat it before the bugs do, it won’t actually work. wink

  • Micah10/25 07:19 PM

    Borax is commmonly sold here under the brand “20 Mule Team Borax.”  It has a very low toxicity to humans and domestic animals. 

    Boric Acid is available at pharmacies and in commercial preparations at Home Depot and hardware stores under the name Victor.  It is MUCH more potent than Borax and can be used when Borax doesn’t work.  IT IS TOXIC to children and pets though, even in small doses.

  • Micah10/25 07:23 PM

    And I forgot to add, regarding Boric Acid being very toxic; It is about as toxic as table salt, and a little less toxic than baking soda.

  • Erin10/28 07:11 PM

    Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve been having cockroach problems for years now, and everytime we move, they come with us. We’ve had the exterminator come, and it’s just not working (probably because we’ve been in apartments so they just hide somewhere else until all the poison is gone). I’m glad to find something non-toxic to try!

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