Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides • Hacker News Board

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#151

Post by logfromblammo » Thu, Jul 11, 2019, 5:25 PM UTC

CriticalCathed wrote: post #142

logfromblammo wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd take a source that has been peer-reviewed by entomologists containing the evidence of independently repeatable measurements. The falsifiable hypothesis is that crystalline boric acid can kill an insect without being ingested, by a purely mechanical action. Sassolite (boric acid) has a Mohs hardness of ONE . Please understand why I might be skeptical of its supposed reputation for killing things by scratching them…

You think the EPA, the University of Oregon, and the National Pesticide Information Center are wrong?

I think they are referring to pesticides that contain boron, and not specifically to the individual chemical component B(OH)3 (s), a.k.a. solid boric acid.

I can easily imagine a commercial pesticide targeted at ants and roaches that contains borates, sugar, and diatomaceous earth, because that is exactly what I use in my own kitchen, made from the individual components. It is effective, and has low toxicity to humans and pets. But to be clear, it is abrasive because the D.E. component is abrasive, not from the boric acid.

D.E. is actually the only powdered pesticidal substance I am aware of that kills via mechanical means.

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#152

Post by bigmit37 » Thu, Jul 11, 2019, 8:32 PM UTC

stirfrykitty wrote: post #42

Mix baking soda and sugar together and put them in a bowl. Will kill them dead without toxicity to humans. Boric acid has no resistance. Bay leaves repel about every insect known to man. Roaches hate bay leaves and will not be in the same area with them. Editing to say that bay leaves can be crushed in a coffee grinder, put in a plastic ketchup/mustard bottle as a powder, and the resulting powder "puffed" into areas…

I have to try the bay leaves. Thanks for these pointers.

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#153

Post by lurker_primo » Fri, Jul 12, 2019, 4:52 AM UTC

gingerlime wrote: post #77

stirfrykitty wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The baking soda will kill them, too. Orange oil, bay leaves, and baking soda/sugar mix are all non-toxic to humans and animals, and all cheap. And they all work very well. Where I live, the only insects I will not kill are the spiders. They hang out under my roof line and eat all the bad flying insects like mosquitoes.

Your comments are what makes HN super-awesome! Thank you. Any tips for mosquitoes when you can’t rely on spiders (or geckos) alone?

If you can stand the smell, neem oil is very effective. I use low concentrations in a spray bottle, and spray my windows, they generally don't come in..

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#154

Post by andrewl » Fri, Jul 12, 2019, 2:28 PM UTC

tsss wrote: post #95

andrewl wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've wondered about that. Could small crawling robots, perhaps 3-inches long, be built to roam around houses and inside walls and under sinks and so on to seek out and kill cockroaches and other household pests? I doubt anything can develop resistance to being torn apart by a robot. The answer is probably that it could be done now, or fairly soon. Whether it would be economical is another question entirely. But I don…

Fairly soon? We're barely getting man-sized robots that can open doors and walk over stairs. You would need thousands of much better robots that can not only walk more difficult terrain but also navigate and search completely autonomously and pursue at a high speed (some cockroaches can even fly) while having enough strength to crush them.

You're probably right, I'm too optimistic.

Perhaps the better model is army ants, or driver ants. I read they will sweep through a village and kill or drive out roaches, spiders, mice, and other vermin. The human inhabitants welcome them. Like all ants and termites, they're individually dumb, but the colony can accomplish a lot. So maybe the answer is thousands of one-inch crawling robots which bite anything that moves.