Has anyone used boric acid powder for carpet beetle problems? And if so, where did you manage to find it?
I have looked at Bricos and Supermarkets as apparently it could be in the laundry/cleaning supply section but haven’t found it yet.
Amazon doesn’t seem to have it either. I read someplace online that is available at pharmacies but I have a bunch of carpets I need to treat and don’t need pharmaceutical grade powder.
Borax might work but apparently its a coarser powder and not as potent to the beetles. But I haven’t found that either.
I found a bunch of Raid cockroach powder at Carrefour but I think its a poison and I would prefer a solution that’s non-toxic to humans.
diatomaceous earth works as it dehydrates their bodies. Safe for us.
If you have access to a freezer large enough for your carpets, 72 hours in should do it.
The carpet freezing trick may be most effective, although won’t touch anything left behind on the floor or in cracks etc.
Borax is not especially toxic: Borax - Wikipedia
All the carpets are far too large for the freezer trick, but i had read online that it works well.
My understanding is that Boric Acid is more refined than plain Borax and so it dusts the insects and then they “groom” and ingest it, so it only works on bugs that groom themselves. The directions I read online said to apply the powder to the carpet, wait a few hours and then vacuum it back up.
We tried the vinegar spray last night on one carpet to see if it works, now the house smells like a pickle factory.
I found an English translation of the Raid powder and it is a synthetic pyrethrum base so it might work without being to toxic but its not cheap. Amazon US has Boric Acid by pound but I haven’t found it here yet.
For the 2nd time.
Diatomaceous Earth Is Effective Against Carpet Beetles | Pest Exterminators.
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I did also buy some of that. But it was a bit pricey as it was a mix with natural pyrethrum.
I didn’t realize it was that effective on carpet beetles. I had used it before for ants when camping but never found it to work that well.
Have you found diatomaceous in bulk in France? I am going to give it a try if I can find some. Seems like it would work well to spread before leaving for a while since it takes a week or so to work, and then vacuum it up when returning.