Borax safe for chickens?

[draperchick]

I am trying to get rid of some ants and earwigs outdoors with a homemade borax and sugar mixture. (You soak it up into cotton balls and leave them outside for the insects and it kills them.) But I'm wondering if this is safe to use around chickens. Anyone know?

Thank you!

 

[SurprisingWoman]

I don't know but this is a great question.

*bump*

 

[popcornpuppy]

I do not know the answer to your question, whether or not borax is safe. I do know that you can use food grade d.e. for this purpose and it is completely safe for use around chickens. Check out food grade d.e. on this website or look up wolfcreekranch.com and you will find all the info you need about d.e. and pests.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

I would think that the chickens would eat the cotton ball. I know they will eat styrofoam (sp?) packing peanuts in a hurry and a cotton ball looks very similar. I use food grade diatomaceous earth and poultry dust inside my coops and 5% sevin dust outside the coop.

As for the Borax... I don't know if it is safe for chickens but I do know that you can use it in carpets inside your home for fleas (I learned that on byc) It did not bother my inside pets or my family.

 

[Chickn chick 46]

I have heard of boric acid and sugar for ants but not borax and sugar. (not sure of the difference between the two)

I know the container of boric acid I have for ants says not safe around pets and children. So i'm curious about the borax because I have ants in our new hen house (they haven't moved in yet) and I'd like to get rid of them before we move them in.

 

[porteryork]

I do not think it is safe. I know I have boric acid (which is what is in Borax) is infused in my insulation as it will kill all self grooming animals including squirrels. Chickens are self-grooming so I would think it would be deadly to them as well........

 

[Uppity Peon]

I think I would put it in a jar with holes in the lid or something so the chickens can't get it.

 

[chicksalot]

If you want to research pesticides go to www.pesticide.org here you can read results of studies done on many common chemicals. Someone told me that vinegar on ants works.

 

[draperchick]

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll put the cotton balls in a container with holes just to be safe. I did notice that all of the cotton balls disappeared last time I tried this and now I'm thinking it must have been the chickens!

If anyone has had any other success with another type of treatment for ants (or earwigs for that matter) let me know!

 

[Coqpoulet]

Borax is not called Borax because it has boric acid. It is called that because it has boron.