Did you know you can spray colloidal silver on your floors (or simply mop your floors with it) to help get rid of roaches?

Believe it or not, silver is actually very effective against certain insect pests. But not because silver is poisonous or otherwise toxic to insects. Instead, silver destroys crucial microbes that live in symbiotic relationship with the insects, and that the insects depend upon.

And when the silver destroys those microbes, the insects either die off, or move on to another area where there’s no silver to harm their microbial friends. Ergo, voila, no more infestation.

Here are some specific examples of colloidal silver’s ability to stop roaches and other common home insect pests in their tracks…

Hi, Steve Barwick here, for The Silver Edge…

According to a study titled “Anti-bacterial Performance of Colloidal Silver-Treated Laminate Wood Flooring” which was published in the journal International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, the presence of colloidal silver repels roaches.

Indeed, it was revealed by the study authors that roaches will avoid laminate wood floor coverings if they contain colloidal silver. In fact, during the study the roaches avoided walking on the flooring an astonishing 87% of the time!

The study authors could not explain why the roaches avoided the laminate flooring when it was impregnated with colloidal silver.

They stated,

“Under this framework, our data facilitate further study and insight into the biological effects of colloidal silver, in particular to obtain an explanation for cockroach avoidance of colloidal silver impregnated surfaces.”

But the answer to the dilemma might already be known. In fact, it’s been known since the mid-1940’s.

You see, roaches are also part of that estimated 10% of the insect kingdom that appear to depend upon a very close relationship with bacteria for their very lives.

As R.W. Glaser of the Department of Animal and Plant Pathology for the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research has wrote back in 1946, in a study published in the Journal of Parasitology titled “The Intracellular Bacteria of the Cockroach in Relation to Symbiosis”:

“The presence of intracellular bacilli in all species of cockroaches, so far investigated, has been known for many years. These bacteria are densely packed within the cytoplasm of certain specialized fat cells termed bacteriocytes. The microorganisms are transmitted from generation to generation through the ova.”

In other words, roaches are loaded with bacteria, internally. And those intracellular bacteria are passed along to the young even before they’re born.

Glaser points out that studies conducted as far back as 1945 demonstrated that when penicillin was administered to roaches to destroy the bacteria living in their bodies, “the roaches died after some days had elapsed.”

Indeed, the authors of the earlier 1945 study, Brues and Dunn, stated at that time,

“We cannot regard the present results as conclusive evidence that the bacteroids are necessary for the continued life of the cockroaches, but they make it appear very probable that such is the case, and that they are symbiotic, and not parasitic, microorganisms.”

In other words, all available evidence points to the fact that the roaches depend upon the bacteria they harbor inside their bodies for life itself. The bacteria aid the roaches in numerous ways, including digestion and possibly even reproduction.

In fact, additional research conducted in the 1960’s, including a study published in the Journal of Bacteriology in February of 1961, titled “Electron Microscopy of Symbiotic Bacteria in Developing Oocytes of the American Cockroach, Periplaneta Americana” confirmed the symbiotic nature of the relationship between roaches and the internal bacteria they harbor.

Indeed, the study authors noted that there seemed to be a direct relationship between the bacteria harbored intracellularly by the roaches, and the egg membrane of the roaches.

It appeared to the study authors to be quite possible that the bacteria secreted a substance necessary for roach egg development. In other words, without these bacteria, the roaches couldn’t even reproduce!

Said the study authors:

“The relationships between the egg membrane and the symbiote [i.e., the bacteria – ED] furnish further evidence that one, or possibly all, of these factors and others not yet understood are directly influencing egg development…

…Whatever the nature of the association between host membranes and symbiotes may be throughout the life cycles of the host and symbiote, it is obvious that the level of symbiosis is one that involves a very highly integrated system.”

In other words, the egg membranes of the roaches and the symbiotic bacteria living in those membranes work so closely together as to constitute a single system. The bacteria are part of the roaches very life!

Is it any wonder then that roaches would avoid a colloidal silver-impregnated flooring like the plague?

The very bacteria their lives depend upon would be endangered by any contact with and uptake of silver. And it appears the roaches instinctively understand this!

But what about other common household pests…can colloidal silver help with those too?

Using Colloidal Silver to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

My wife is an avid organic gardener, and because of that she keeps a large gallon-sized plastic “mulch” compost container next to the kitchen sink for fresh fruit and vegetable scraps such as watermelon rinds, corn husks, potato peelings, apple peelings and other organic materials.

Of course, there’s only two of us living in the house. The kids are all grown and long gone. So nowadays it might take a week to fill that plastic container with enough food scraps to take to the composter outdoors.

And on occasion, particularly during hot summer months, if the plastic container hasn’t been emptied fast enough into the outdoor composter, we experience an outbreak of tiny fruit flies in the kitchen – which of course can be quite aggravating.

The simple solution is to take the darned plastic mulch container outside, empty its contents into the composter, and then thoroughly clean it out before bringing it back into the house.

But my wife keeps a small glass spray bottle of colloidal silver next to the kitchen sink for disinfection purposes. And one day when we had an outbreak of the fruit flies, she got the idea of spraying the inside of the container and all of its contents with the colloidal silver.

And voila! No more fruit flies. What happened?

Well, once again, it turns out that fruit flies are fairly voracious eaters. In fact, they feed on anything that produces alcohol, which includes fruits and veggies when they begin to decay and ferment.

The flies not only feed on these decaying/fermenting fruits and veggies, but they also lay hundreds of eggs at a time in the decomposing foods.

But by spraying the colloidal silver onto the fruit and veggie scraps in the plastic mulch container, the fermentation/decay process – which is caused by bacteria – was temporarily stopped, depriving the fruit flies of their favorite food.

Finally, I think it’s important to note that in a 2011 study published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine, it was demonstrated that silver is toxic to the eggs of Drosophilia – the genus of flies which includes fruit flies.

So, when my wife sprayed her fruit and vegetable mulch with colloidal silver, it not only killed the bacteria that produce the fermentation byproducts the fruit flies feed on, but it also likely killed any fruit fly eggs that had already been laid!

Using Colloidal Silver to Stop Dust Mite Infestations in Your Bedding

Did you know scientists say your bedding is crawling with millions of microscopic dust mites and unseen colonies of bacteria at just about any point in time?

Indeed, as much as 10% of the weight of a two-year old pillow can be composed of dead dust mites and their droppings, which many people are allergic to (and wonder why they wake up in the mornings with clogged noses, itchy eyes and even swollen eyelids).

Dust mites live on the dead skin which humans shed during the night, as well as on the moisture (sweat) exuded from our bodies which gets soaked up by our bedding. Millions upon millions of mites (and bacteria) can be found living on your bedding at any point in time.

What can you do about it?

Washing your sheets and pillow cases frequently (at least once per week, in very hot water) can help reduce the numbers of dust mites and bacteria on your bedding, and well as the amount of dust mite excrement.

And here’s a surprise: Studies show that dust mites appear to hate contact with silver. So lightly spraying your bedding with colloidal silver several times a week and allowing it to air dry before crawling back into bed can further reduce the inevitable infestations.

Indeed, one study conducted by researchers in Seoul, Korea, in 2003, documented a 99.9% reduction in the infestation of dust mites was achieved within 48 hours after a population of dust mites were placed on the silver-impregnated fabric in an enclosed test tube setting.

In the second study, conducted by researchers in France in 2003, a 94% reduction in house dust mite (i.e., Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) populations was achieved in a different test designed to document the fate of the mites through two developmental cycles over a period of six weeks.

In both studies, treated samples were tested against untreated samples. There were no correspondingly similar reductions in dust mite populations of the untreated samples.

So why not just mist your bedding – very lightly – several times a week, using a spray bottle full of 10 ppm colloidal silver, and then allow it to air dry before using your bed?

It will drive the dust mites back to oblivion where they belong. And as an added bonus, if there’s any nasty bacteria on your bedding (and you’d better believe, there are), they’ll be killed off, too!

And when you wash your sheets and pillow cases, be sure to add a couple of ounces of colloidal silver to the rinse cycle of your laundry in order to give the fabric added antimicrobial (and anti-dust mite) protection.

It’s a simple solution that’s as effective as it is easy to implement, thanks to silver’s astonishing disinfection qualities.

I even very lightly spray my furniture fabric with a little bit of colloidal silver every week or so, for the very same purpose.

Using Colloidal Silver to Help Control Fire Ants

Now, this one is quite interesting: Did you realize there’s a patent for eliminating fire ants by spraying them with colloidal silver?

Indeed, there is. It’s United States Patent Application 20090017134, and here’s a brief synopsis from the patent website:

“A method for controlling fire ants is described, which includes applying a silver-containing composition to an area infested by fire ants or threatened by an infestation. The composition is applied to the area and reduces or eliminates the colony within a period of about two to four weeks and prevents fire ant re-infestation for a period of about six months to one year.”

I have to admit, I haven’t had a chance to try it myself. But I’m fascinated by it.

After all, fire ants are known as pests across the globe and comprise almost 300 different known species of stinging ants. They feed primarily on young plants and germinating seeds, and can cause significant agricultural damage, particularly to grain, fruit, nut and root crops.

Four species of fire ants are currently found throughout the southeastern United States, having arrived to the U.S., from the tropics, back in the early 1900’s.

So, how does colloidal silver work against the destructive fire ants? Here’s what the patent states, under the subhead “Detailed Description of the Invention”:

“The invention is based in part on the surprising discovery that application of a silver-containing composition to an area infested by fire ants repels the ants from the area and the repellant effect is maintained for a period of several months following application.

In particular, the inventors have discovered that simple compositions containing silver in the form of silver particles and ions, or as silver nitrate dissolved in water are effective repellants of fire ants and their entire colonies.

The invention provides an improvement over commonly used methods for fire ant control such as individual mound treatment and broadcast treatment, the effectiveness of which are limited as described elsewhere herein.

The novel method described herein differs in its basic approach to the problem of fire ant infestation by apparently impacting the fire ants indirectly. Instead of killing or incapacitating the ants, the ants in a targeted colony are forced to migrate to a location away from the area treated with the silver-containing composition.

Without being bound to particular theory, it is believed that application of the silver-containing composition creates highly unfavorable living conditions for the fire ants by reducing or eliminating their food supply, in particular by negatively impacting the growth or quality of fungi and bacteria in the soil.

In any case, the inventors have shown that in response to application of the silver compositions as described herein, fire ant colonies either completely relocate to an untreated area, or the size of the colony is substantially reduced.

It is believed that the inventors’ results are applicable to the control of other insect pests for which fungi or bacteria are a major food source.”

Well, how about that? Sounds exactly like the example mentioned earlier with the fungal gnats, doesn’t it?

Once again, the silver is not toxic to the ants, themselves. Indeed, when the patent holders had lab tests conducted at Texas A&M University, ants that were given colloidal silver in their drinking water were not harmed by it.

But by applying colloidal silver to the ant bed itself, and the surrounding soil, it eliminates the soil bacteria and fungus that the ants live in harmony with in a symbiotic relationship. So, when you apply the colloidal silver to the ant beds, the ants suddenly become migratory. In other words, they begin to pack up their bags and leave.

According to the patent holders, depending on a variety of factors it can take between two weeks to six weeks to see the ant beds go from bustling communities to completely bare when colloidal silver is applied to the ant beds at concentrations ranging from .5 ppm (i.e., one-half ppm) to 35 ppm.

The patent holders also wrote:

“Several tests at different concentrations were conducted over fifteen (15) months. In all cases after an initial reaction period varying from about 2 to about 4 weeks during which fire ant activity steadily decreased, the treated areas were then free of fire ant mounds for approximately six (6) months to one (1) year.

A second application of solution to the same mounds about one year after the initial treatment achieved the repellant result within a shorter period of about 1 to 2 weeks. After the initial application, the tested areas were regularly maintained (mowed and cleaned of debris).”

So, there you have it. Colloidal silver can even be used to help eradicate beds of fire ants from your property. Now, isn’t that quite amazing?

In Conclusion…

It’s important here, to reiterate that colloidal silver itself is not “toxic” to insects, like it is to bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and even cancer cells.

In other words, silver not an “insecticide” in the traditional sense of the word. It’s not a “bug poison.” You can spray it on grasshoppers, flies, and other insects, and they don’t seem to mind at all. Nor does it seem to harm them.

But…it is quite toxic to the single-celled, intracellular bacteria that live in close, symbiotic relationships with certain insects such as those we’ve discussed above.

These microbes actually perform crucial, life-giving functions for certain insects. But silver can be used to kill the bacteria the insects depend upon for their very lives, which either results in the deaths of the insects, or in the insects leaving the area to escape the silver and thus spare their bacterial symbionts.

What’s more, silver is toxic to the fungus and bacteria some insects – like fungal gnats and fire ants – eat and thrive on.

So, that’s how it works. And that’s why it only works on certain insects, and not on others.

If the insect is not dependent for its very life on a symbiotic bacterial, or on a fungal microbe for food, then silver most likely will not work against it. But if an insect is dependent on a bacterial symbiont or fungal food source for its very life, it will likely be easily repelled by colloidal silver.