US EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision Document for Boric Acid and its Salts
Pesticide products containing boric acid and its sodium salts are registered in the U.S. for use as insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. As insecticides, some act as stomach poisons in ants, cockroaches, silverfish and termites, while others abrade the exoskeletons of insects. As herbicides, some cause desiccation or interrupt photosynthesis in plants, while others suppress algae in swimming pools and sewage systems.
Boric acid and its sodium salts includes the seven active ingredients:
- boric acid,
- sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax decahydrate),
- sodium tetraborate pentahydrate (borax pentahydrate),
- sodium tetraborate (anhydrous borax),
- disodium octaborate tetrahydrate,
- disodium octaborate (anhydrous), and
- sodium metaborate.
Source: US EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision Document for Boric Acid and its Salts. See also NPIC Fact Sheet for Boric Acid.