When using an agent to get rid of irritating ants, no one wants to harm their pets at all. Therefore, people strongly seek further details about the safety of insecticides, especially if one has pets at home. One of the most prevalent agents used to kill ants is Borax, in this article we establish and tell you is indeed you can use that agent without it affecting the health of your pets.
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What is Borax?
Having mentioned that Borax is applicable in killings ants in our brief introduction, it is, therefore, absolutely essential to inform you more details about Borax. You need to know what it is, right?
Well, to begin with, Borax is a natural mineral, meaning it is available in our environment and it isn’t manmade as most people tend to think. The chemical formula for this agent is Na2B4O7 • 10H2O.
If you are a scientist, especially a chemist or a biochemist, you will certainly understand how that chemical formula is derived.
Being a common and one of the most significant boron compounds, Borax is also known as disodium tetraborate, sodium tetraborate, or sodium borate.
For proper naming and identification, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) came up with a name this compound, and that is sodium tetraborate decahydrate.
Borax is an agent that is found in various products such as:
- Hand soaps
- Laundry booster
- In some toothpaste types
Perhaps in this section, what you need to know about Borax is that it has several uses apart from being an ant-killer.
For instance, it is a water softening agent, food additive (preservative) household cleaner, desiccant, herbicide, and fungicide.
Having looked at some of the crucial details about Borax, in the coming sections, you are getting more information about Borax’s use in killing ants and its connection with pets.
Is Borax for ants safe for pets?
The safety of your pets is one thing you don’t want to take for granted, no matter the kind of insecticide you are using. For Borax users, the compound isn’t harmless for some pets such as cats and dogs.
If you expose them to too much Borax, your pets may start developing some sickness symptoms such as loss of appetite, and that is very dangerous for your pet.
In several articles online, you will find people saying Borax is harmless to your pets, but there is a certain level of exposure that can be harmful.
For instance, let’s assume, you expose your dog or cat to this chemical every day for two months, don’t you think it will e danger to your dog’s health?
So, it is recommendable that you keep Borax far away from the reach of your pets and make sure that you treat any sickness symptom of your pet with seriousness, especially if it has been exposed to Borax for so long.
How to use Borax to kill ants without affecting pets
Since the possibility of your pet being affected by long exposure to Borax is high, you might need to apply necessary measures to protect their safety.
Here are some of the key tips to follow to apply and reduce the risk of harming your pets when using Borax to kill ants.
Tip 1: Put the cornmeal in the area of Borax application. Cornmeal is safe for your pets, but if digested by ants, they are killed because it will expand their stomachs.
Tip 2: Sprinkling of black pepper on the ground so that to deter ants from crossing into your homestead, this will definitely not harm your pets.
Tip 3: Addition of fresh mint to the region where you have applied Borax, whose smell will deter ants, without affecting your pets at all.
Tip 4: Addition of flour to the ant’s trail. Addition of flour will kill all the existing ants and eventually discourage others from settling in that location.
Flour is not harmful to your cat or dogs, they may even play on it, but they will not eat it. It is, therefore, an important and easiest way to apply Borax while reducing the risk of affecting your dog.
Other Outdoor Ant killers safe for pets
The following are some of the best options you can use to also kill ants without harming your pets.
Granular Ant Bait
This approach will primarily target the source and deconstruct the nests. Check for more details about this option at Pest Control Hacks website.
Diatomaceous Earth
This option will also not harm your pets. It is one of the easiest approaches to practice and will help eliminate and keep ants out of your homestead.
This agent is nature-friendly and not toxic, so you do not have to worry about your pets anymore if you are a frequent user of this outdoor and indoor product.
READ MORE: Does using Cinnamon for ants work
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