Tip #22
Boric Acid is the Best Roach Killer
Written on January 18, 2013 by Lucas Hall, updated on July 30, 2014
WARNING: Any product that will kill a roach, is usually somewhat dangerous to humans.Therefore, be mindful of pets, babies, and tenants when treating your rental property.
Boric Acid
I’ve tried almost every roach-killing chemical out there and the winner seems to always be Boric Acid – which is an inexpensive do-it-yourself product that can be found at most big grocery stores and all hardware stores.
In my opinion, Boric Acid is the best roach killer because it works. period.
Harris – My Favorite Brand
Harris Roach Killer Powder is my favorite brand because it’s cheap and seems to work faster than other brands. When I use it, my roach problems go away – which is all I really care about. The tablets also come in handy.
The reason I use Harris, is because I’ve found that other brands sometimes dilute the product with filler, making it not as potent and less effective.
One easy trick is to mix the powder with sweetened condensed milk until it becomes a sticky paste. The paste is an edible poison that the roaches cannot resist.
When my tenants complain about roaches, as a measure of good faith, I usually buy some Harris Brand Boric Acid (which comes in tablet and powder form), and spend 10 minutes putting it all around the house – anywhere that I think roaches might be hiding. The powder comes in handy for laying a line of poison or squeezing it into holes and hard-to-reach places.
If there are too many roaches already, and an infestation is already well underway, I just simply call an exterminator and make my tenants pay for it (per the lease of course). Boric Acid usually works in 1-5 days, but if the problem is an urgent one, exterminators will treat the property with high-powered chemicals and “bombs”. Just be mindful of your tenants and pets before going nuclear.
Learn More
Read my other in-depth guide that describes How to Kill Roaches in a Rental Property
- Other roach-killing products
- How to know when to call an exterminator
- Useful lease clauses that address roaches and infestations
Topics: Landlord Tips, Maintenance & Renovations
66 Comments
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Jim Davis
I have spent a great deal of time in property management. We tried everything until we finally found a boric acid paste professionally made by landlords. The paste had been around for many years and yet we hadn’t heard of it. It is called MRF 2000 and it is the best thing we have ever used. Instead of spraying all the time, we can now treat an entire complex with one application and get an entire apartment building roach-free; what a relief.
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Lucas Hall
Hi Jim,
Thanks for your feedback. The MRF 2000 seems similar to the paste I describe. But the fact that it already comes pre-packaged, and I don’t have to mix it is very nice!-
Duane
I need to know we’re I can get boric acid so I can get ride of a roach problem
Duane
I need to know we’re I can get boric acid so I can get ride of a roach problem could u use Condensed milk mixed with boric acid to turn it into a liquidation so you can spray it all over instead of paste
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Andrea speer
Hi u can order it from amazon . it is expensive. I got mine from dollar general for two dollars and fifteen cents
Good luckMichael
You can basically buy this product anywhere, hardware stores, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc….you can also order it online at Amazon.com
Julie Taylor
How do you make this paste and how much of what??? Please help I’ve tried everything. Right down to a year contract with a national pest company…
joe
unfortunately for me, I live in california, and I am legally not allowed to charge the tenants for bringing an exterminator. It is my responsibility. Damn..
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Lucas Hall
Hey Joe,
It’s great to meet you. Thanks for your comment, but it’s not entirely true.Here’s my understanding of CA laws:
1. The landlord must provide a clean, pest-free home when the tenant first moves in.
2. At any time during the lease, a landlord must take action to get rid of any pests that show up.
3. However, the burden of paying for the pest removal falls on the person responsible for pests in the place. If your tenant’s living behavior causes a mouse and roach infestation, then you still have to take action to rid the house of them, but you can charge it back to the tenant.I’ve never seen a law that requires the landlord to pay for pest treatment under all circumstances. What if you have a hoarder tenant? Please prove me wrong if you can cite the statute.
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Karl
The landlord should ALWAYS be responsible for the cost of exterminators/pest control unless the tenant is responsible for bringing them into the property. If I ever had a landlord that demanded that I pay for pest control when it was not my fault, I would move out of there fast. Especially in an apartment. Think about it, you could be the cleanest person on Earth, and your neighbor is a junklord. Now, you have a bug problem because your neighbor is causing an infestation. Why should I have to pay for that?
Again, I totally agree if I am the one causing the problem, I should pay, but if not…why?? I don’t understand your stance on this.
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