Boric Acid Powder & High Heat?

Question

I have s recent roach invasion. Combat no longer works. I have been putting boric acid powder around... but some of them have retreated into the stove!

If I put it on the bottom floor of the stove (not the kitchen floor itself) under the broiler (which is under the gas burners that broil the food & heat the oven are located) do I have to worry about a heat/boric acid reaction? I rarely broil or bake, so if I have to sweep out the boric acid every time I use the oven, I will... but is it safe? Will the high heat transform the boric acid powder, perhaps release toxic fumes?

Thanks in advance...

(PS: I have cats, too...)

PS: I am VERY careful about where I place it, due to my cats... but thank you for your concerns, too...

Answer 1

I don't think you have much to worry about as far as fumes go. Whatever the boric acid would transform to would be some other form of boron oxide, and they're all solids. Since you have cats, though, I'd worry a bit about them stepping in some of the boric acid dust and then licking their paws to clean themselves. It's a pretty bad gastrointestinal irritant, and can cause them to vomit or get diarrhea. Under the stove should be fine, unless the cats have a habit of chasing the tab from the milk jug under there.

Answer 2

H3BO3 Boric acid is soluble in boiling water. When heated above 170 °C, it dehydrates, forming metaboric acid (HBO2): H3BO3 → HBO2 + H2O Metaboric acid is a white, cubic crystalline solid and is only slightly soluble in water. Metaboric acid melts at about 236 °C, and when heated above about 300 °C further dehydrates, forming tetraboric acid or pyroboric acid (H2B4O7): 4 HBO2 → H2B4O7 + H2O The term boric acid may sometimes refer to any of these compounds. Further heating leads to boron trioxide. H2B4O7 → 2 B2O3 + H2O Boric acid does not dissociate in aqueous solution as a Brønsted acid, but is a Lewis acid which interacts with water molecules to form the tetrahydroxyborate ion, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy[2]: B(OH)3 + H2O is in equilibrium with B(OH)− 4 + H+ (Ka = 5.8x10−10 mol/l; pKa = 9.24) Polyborate anions are formed at pH 7–10 if the boron concentration is higher than about 0.025 mol/L. The best known of these is the tetraborate ion, found in the mineral borax: 4 B(OH)− 4 + 2 H+ is in equilibrium with B4O2− 7 + 9 H2O Boric acid makes an important contribution to the absorption of low frequency sound in seawater.[3]

Answer 3

It's fine, we use boric acid solution to make a green flame for halloween. Never had any problems.

Answer 4

hmmm uh uh uh uh uh im not good at science