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[151949]

Our neighbor here at camp was telling me that she uses borax in both her Florida home and her camper to repel insects. She just pours it from the box onto the floors.  She says it keeps geckos out as well and they don't have to be bothered with using screen doors. I thanked her for the tip but after she left I was thinking about this. First of all - Would I want to have borax granules all over the floors as they would get dragged around the whole house on your feet. Also , would I want them on my feet since I am almost always barefoot in the house. Wouldn't they get cleaned up every time you sweep the floors so you would have to keep putting it back down. All in all - it seemed tremendously simpler to me to just close the screen door. 

In Florida we have a service that comes and dusts the house outside with granules that are probably mostly borax because we live too close to a man who raises honey bees and so they are not allowed to spray. The granules are very effective and we don't get insects in the house but we do use our screens.Why wouldn't someone want to use the screens on their doors and windows. I also would not want frogs and geckos coming inside.My friend leaves her door screen open for the dog to go in & out at will and she always has geckos and frogs in the house. EEEWWWW.

[goldensrbest]

I think  if you have pets,it is dangerous to use around them, look it up,i remember buying borax from a pharmacy years ago to use,just do not remember what i used it for.

[SilleeMee]

I use Borax. Put it in a small dish and place it in a dark corner where the spiders live. Definitely don't just throw it around like your feeding the birds or something...lol!

[Sassyboo3]

YOU MEAN BORIC ACID????

[Tigriss]

I use Borax for pest control in the house, not out.  I put it in one of those bottles used for picnic ketcup and mustard that way I have a nice line of Borax that I can put on the edge of the walls and the carpet/floors.  I don't sprinkle it on all the floor because I vacuum/sweep, therefore, it would get cleaned up, if you clean up.  Borax gets in between the bodies of the critters and their shells/armour.  It irritates them, causes dehydration and kills them.  You can target ants by mixing borax, a bit of sugar and some hot water to melt them both.  You soak a cotton ball in it, then put the ball on an old lid or a piece of tinfoil.  They drink it in, and spread it about the nest, and never come back.  This is also good for cars if you get ants or bug in your car in the summer.  WE DO ALL THE TIME.  I am allergic to ants as well, so them in my car is horrible for me.  I used to use spray but that stinks and then you get in the car and drive with it in the air.  I also use it in the kitchen to keep those buggies out!  

I live in the south of GA, so if the lady you met chose not to use her screen doors in FL, then she got tons of flies, gnats, yellow flies (those are a real pain because they go for your ankles and feet and you can't feel them land, so you know it with they sting, they make my feet double in size when I get bit), and not to mention mosquitos!!  Borax isn't going to kill them in the air!

[Tigriss]

Forgot the webiste to help you with the recipe! http://www.agoodtired.com/the-easiest-safest-most-effective-diy-ant-killer/

[SilleeMee]

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@Sassyboo3 wrote:

YOU MEAN BORIC ACID????

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@Sassyboo3,

No, Borax is a compound which contains several powdered ingredients. Acid is not one of them.

[mibo]

Boric acid is the active ingredient in borax - or perhaps borax is the trade name or vice versa.  In any event, boric acid is a white powder, and I have bought it in the drug store and used it the same way as another poster indicated - in one of those plastic squeeze bottles to run a small line of powder around the cracks of cabinets, etc.  My pets do not mess with it, and it is extremely effective in keeping roaches and ants out.

However, the mention of geckos begs the question - how do you keep them out of the house????  Argh!  they give me the heebee jeebees, and I am so freaked out and filled with anxiety when I find one that I must capture it and release to outdoors at all costs, or I cannot sleep.  I don't kill because they are good for eating bad bugs and mosquitos, etc., but I don't want them in the house. 

[Nightowlz]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

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@Sassyboo3 wrote:

YOU MEAN BORIC ACID????

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@Sassyboo3,

No, Borax is a compound which contains several powdered ingredients. Acid is not one of them.

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@SilleeMee @Sassyboo3

It may sound like a dangerous chemical, but boric acid (BA), derived from boron, is actually an antifungal cure-all of sorts. How so? Well, BA is the key ingredient in a variety of effective and affordable home remedies for some of the most common fungal infections, including athlete’s foot and vaginal yeast infections. And that’s not all.

Do you suffer from frequent eye irritations? An eyewash made at home with BA as the key ingredient can be used to cleanse and fight irritations and infections of the eye. Boric acid eyewash quickly provides soothing relief and helps remove pollutants from the eye.

You might have heard of boric acid being used as a natural pest control as well. It’s true. People have been fighting cockroaches with BA for nearly a century. It’s one of the most effective cockroach control agents ever developed, and it can be used as an alternative pest control for roaches and other unwanted invaders. The awesome thing is it’s less toxic to humans and pets than other harsh chemical pesticides, some of which have been linked to ADHD and other conditions, and it also has several beneficial uses beyond getting rid of pests. 

http://draxe.com/boric-acid/

[Spurt]

@mibo

 I understand how you feel because my sister is totally afraid of geckos (she would leave her sliding glass door and screen open for her cat) ......she doesn't live to far from me and I always have to go "rescue her"......nothing like picking up the phone and hearing someone screaming....."there's a lizard on my remote"....(she did't even say hello---)  So I have to go and capture it and release it outside.......

For me, it's NOT the geckos, but those big roaches we have in Texas that live outside but come inside for water, or to get away from the rain or cold---now they will make me let out a scream---LOL!!! 

vs

For keeping geckos away---keep doors closed, use screens, they are attracted to patio plants for hiding and looking for bugs--so keep these away from doors too.......and they don't like my cats (but be careful they can be poisionous to pets they secrete a poison through their skin at least that is what my vet told me..)....

BTW a friend used the Borax stuff on her invasion of the ants and it did the trick, she put the borax recipe in a jar lid .......she doesn't have any pets at this time....so if Borax is used, I be careful around pets...