Several years ago and somewhere in the Indian Ocean, we discovered we had an ant and cockroach infestation. They probably snuck on board via our groceries. Unfortunately once they're on board, it's not easy to get rid of them. All the expensive store bought ant/cockroach sprays and baits did not work for us.
By the time we got to South Africa, the infestation was out of control. I believe there were maybe a gazillion (hah, okay not quite a gazillion but definitely hundreds) of tiny baby roaches running around having a ball under the floorboards in the galley and we had no idea how to get rid of them. Whenever we saw one, we'd squash them, spray them, but they breed so much faster than we could kill them.
I remember one night (about 3 years ago) in South Africa on S/Y Yelo, I was sharing with Daniela about our unwanted guests. She told me, her trick was to have a photo of cockroaches in the galley, which I thought was funny, but hey, she has it and it works!
So there I was thinking of ways to get myself a photo of cockroaches when Doris, another Swiss cruiser, a friend of Daniela's who was listening to our conversation and said "Ah.. la cucaracha!".
She then advised me on how to get rid of them. She said "Buy some borax powder, mix with it sugar and water until it becomes a paste in a shallow tray. A thin layer will do and put it where the la cucaracha's are. Borax powder for la cucaracha's and Boric Acid powder for ants".
So the next time I went to the Pharmacy, I bought a box of Borax and Boric a.k.a Boracic Acid powder just as advised. It costs a fraction of what we'd pay for the commercialized ant/cockroach sprays and baits.
You only need a small quantity each time so it lasts a long time, it's light, it doesn't expire, it's not in some spray can that will eventually rust, basically it's great for boats (and houses too!).
Homemade stuff is always the best. I followed her instructions, but added both the powders into one tray because we had both infestations (an attempt to kill two birds with one stone; or in this case 2 pests with one bait).
Within days there were less and less ants and one day, it all disappeared. As for the roaches, it took a little longer (several weeks) but unlike the ants that magically disappeared, I had to clear the dead roaches regularly till all were gone but it works!
Recently we had another bout of ants here in Trinidad. Fortunately, we got rid of them in 2 days! So grateful for the advice. See formula below.
Ingredients (approx.)
½ teaspoon of Borax powder and/or
½ teaspoon of Boric/Boracic Acid powder
1½ tablespoons of sugar
5-10 drops of room temperature water
Method
Mix the ingredients in a shallow tray until the consistency is like a paste.
Add drops of water as required.
Leave the tray where the ants/cockroaches roam.
Note: Be sure not to put too much of the powder, because you don't want to kill them instantly. The aim is to get the ants to take the bait back to the colony to share thus killing the other ants & its queen. The same applies to the roaches (except of course.. there's no queen roach).
If this fails, get a photo of cockroaches and pin it up! ;)
By the time we got to South Africa, the infestation was out of control. I believe there were maybe a gazillion (hah, okay not quite a gazillion but definitely hundreds) of tiny baby roaches running around having a ball under the floorboards in the galley and we had no idea how to get rid of them. Whenever we saw one, we'd squash them, spray them, but they breed so much faster than we could kill them.
I remember one night (about 3 years ago) in South Africa on S/Y Yelo, I was sharing with Daniela about our unwanted guests. She told me, her trick was to have a photo of cockroaches in the galley, which I thought was funny, but hey, she has it and it works!
So there I was thinking of ways to get myself a photo of cockroaches when Doris, another Swiss cruiser, a friend of Daniela's who was listening to our conversation and said "Ah.. la cucaracha!".
She then advised me on how to get rid of them. She said "Buy some borax powder, mix with it sugar and water until it becomes a paste in a shallow tray. A thin layer will do and put it where the la cucaracha's are. Borax powder for la cucaracha's and Boric Acid powder for ants".
So the next time I went to the Pharmacy, I bought a box of Borax and Boric a.k.a Boracic Acid powder just as advised. It costs a fraction of what we'd pay for the commercialized ant/cockroach sprays and baits.
You only need a small quantity each time so it lasts a long time, it's light, it doesn't expire, it's not in some spray can that will eventually rust, basically it's great for boats (and houses too!).
Homemade stuff is always the best. I followed her instructions, but added both the powders into one tray because we had both infestations (an attempt to kill two birds with one stone; or in this case 2 pests with one bait).
Within days there were less and less ants and one day, it all disappeared. As for the roaches, it took a little longer (several weeks) but unlike the ants that magically disappeared, I had to clear the dead roaches regularly till all were gone but it works!
Recently we had another bout of ants here in Trinidad. Fortunately, we got rid of them in 2 days! So grateful for the advice. See formula below.
Ingredients (approx.)
½ teaspoon of Borax powder and/or
½ teaspoon of Boric/Boracic Acid powder
1½ tablespoons of sugar
5-10 drops of room temperature water
Method
Mix the ingredients in a shallow tray until the consistency is like a paste.
Add drops of water as required.
Leave the tray where the ants/cockroaches roam.
Note: Be sure not to put too much of the powder, because you don't want to kill them instantly. The aim is to get the ants to take the bait back to the colony to share thus killing the other ants & its queen. The same applies to the roaches (except of course.. there's no queen roach).
If this fails, get a photo of cockroaches and pin it up! ;)
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