Originally posted by sigma:
Boric Acid == Borax. The laundry detergent is exactly the same thing, and it costs a fraction of the price too.

20-Mule Team Borax detergent is 100% Borax (the mineral). You can use it for all sorts of things from a pesticide to washing clothes to cleaning the bathtub to a deodorizer like baking soda. And the best part about it is that while it kills things like roaches, ants, and fleas -- it's less harmful to your kids than table salt. You could even use it for diaper rash if you for some reason felt so inclined. And even some... feminine problems. Something about sticking something that's also a pesticide up there is a bit weird -- but it's what they used to do.



Be careful, boric acid is not the same as borax. Boric acid has the chemical formula of B(OH)3 while borax is Na2B4O7 (and we aren't getting into how much water of hydration is typically attached to commercially available borax).

Boric acid and borax are harmful to your kids. According to the 11th Edition of the Merck Index:

"Death from ingestion of boric acid has occurred from < 5 grams for infants and from 5 - 20 grams for adults."

"Ingestion of 5 - 10 grams of borax by young children can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, shock, and even death"

No claims of toxic exposure to sodium chloride were made. However, the LD50 (lethal dose required to kill 50% of a population of rats) is worse for sodium chloride than for boric acid and borax:

Sodium Chloride: 3.75 grams per kg body mass
Boric acid: 5.14 grams per kg body mass
Borax: 5.66 grams per kg body mass

I don't know if the human body's tolerance is similar to that of a rat's for these chemicals. Somehow, I think the human body can tolerate a higher ingestion rate of salt than for the two boron compounds. If we had a worse tolerance to table salt, I think there would be a lot more people dying that would not be related to blood pressure issues.

None of these chemicals are hazardous from a skin absorption point of view. Borax and boric acid do find use as topical astringents/antiseptics on skin.

The moral of the story is: "Keep the boric acid and borax locked-up out of a child's reach".

Getting back to the cockroach problem; Call a professional. You don't have much of a chance killing these buggers off on your own. A pro will know where to spray from experience. There is a terrific episode of National Geographic Explorer where they follow an exterminator around who specializes in cockroaches. That program proved to me that a novice is in over his head on dealing with these buggers.

Mr. Spindlelegs