Silica dusts are especially useful as crack
and crevice treatments for bed bugs,
in food handling areas for cockroaches, carpet
beetles and nuisance ants, and as
wall void treatments for carpenter ants.
While diatomaceous earth is sometimes suggested as
a carpet treatment for fleas there are much better
materials now available for flea
control. The most common silica-based
products used for pest control are the products "Drione"
and "Tri-Die". A variety of silica-based
insecticides can be purchased here, our affiliate.
Be sure to check product labels for permitted
uses.
Boric acid & borate dust
Borates are the sodium salts of boric
acid (sodium borate). Borates are minerals and
have a wide variety of industrial uses as
additives, wood preservatives, insecticides, plant
nutrients, and detergents. Borates act mainly as
"stomach poisons" when formulated in baits for ant
and cockroach control or used as dry
powders or liquids on surfaces. Borate dust
remains active as long as it stays dry and
undisturbed. The product Timbor, for example, is
very effective for powderpost beetles and
dry rot fungi as a surface spray and for carpenter
ants as a wall void dust treatment. Borate
powder also is used to treat carpets for fleas.
However, as with diatomaceous earth, there are
better materials now available for flea control
(see Boric Acid & Borate
Insecticides). A variety of borate-based
insecticides can be purchased here, our affiliate.
Be sure to check product labels for permitted
uses.
Botanical, plant-based dusts
Botanical dusts are both the oldest and
the newest natural dust insecticides. Dusts made
from the ground, dried flowers of the
chrysanthemum plant, containing the natural
insecticide pyrethrum, are among the oldest
commonly-used insecticides. On the other hand,
some of the newest botanical (plant-based) dusts
contain natural plant oils in combination with
some kind of dry carrier such as silica (see Using
Botanical Dust Insecticides for much more
information about dust insecticides in general as
well as how they are used). A variety of botanical
dust insecticides can be purchased here, our affiliate.
Be sure to check product labels for permitted
uses.
Using
Diatomaceous Earth Insecticide
Using
Pyrethrum Insecticides