Borax is the stuff for laundry. Boric acid is definitely what you want.
For anyone who doesn't know:
This is the brand I used and is enough to last you like 100 years, lol. 1 part boric acid, 2 parts sugar, and water it down so it's "soupy". I would put a water bottle cap next to their path and they would start slurping it up almost immediately.
If you have those tiny grease ants, boric acid and peanut butter is the way to go.
https://www.amazon.com/Boric-Acid-Roach-Killer-Each/dp/B00LLQ2E3S/
We had MIL's house professionally treated repeatedly. They'd be crawling on the wall in plain sight the next week.
This stuff on the link took care of them. They carry it back to the nest.
MIL had roaches really bad. We had her house sprayed over and over by the pest control people. The next week they'd be crawling on the walls in broad daylight.
Then we got this stuff and wiped them out
https://www.amazon.com/Boric-Acid-Roach-Killer-Each/dp/B00LLQ2E3S/
They take it back to their nests and kill the rest.