Subject: Re: Fwd: What's the recipe

From: Joel Stryker <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 10:39:52 PDT

The recipe that I've been using for boric acid is pretty simple.

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 teaspoon boric acid

I got this from Rincon-Vitova, an insectary that sells a lot of beneficials 
for biocontrol.  I've used it in greenhouses for sweet-loving ants.  Mix up 
the solution (beware of the boric acid, it is toxic!  Especially in the 
powder form, when it's easy to inhale the dust.)  I put it in some kind of 
container with holes in it for the ants, like a bottle of some kind.  A 
small soda bottle would work well, except I don't like the idea of putting 
poisons into something that people will recognize as food.  Something of 
that size, though.  You will probably need to refill/replace about once 
every week or two, because fungi can grow in it.

Good luck!  I don't think this is an organic approach, although it is often 
allowed in organic situations for structural infestations only.  Since it 
poisons the ants, I don't particularly like using it, but when the ants are 
killing all the predators that eat whiteflies, aphids, etc, I'm not sure 
what else to do...

Joel Stryker
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