Does baking soda kill carpenter ants and other species? Let’s find out.
A lot has been said about baking soda having multiple uses asides from baking or cooking.
Such examples include being a teeth whitener, serving as a preventive treatment against acne & pimples, and treating nail fungi.
Other uses include being a deodorizer, relieving diaper rash, and hand softener.
Will Baking Soda Kill Ants?
Some homeowners also recommend baking soda for pest treatment. There have been many arguments for and against baking soda as a solution to pest issues.
We are more interested in whether we can use baking soda for ant extermination. In other words, will baking soda kill ants? All our discussions will seek to provide answers.
Non-Toxic Approaches to Ant Control
A growing number of homeowners are gravitating towards non-toxic pest control methods and strategies due to several obvious benefits.
First, they’re non-toxic.
In other words, no harm is caused to users. For many, safety comes first. This is a natural survival instinct.
No pest control strategy should put the user in harm’s way. This isn’t to say that all chemical pesticides put users in danger. Rather, they’re potentially hazardous, especially when not used properly.
This is why most commercial pesticides come with safety instructions to minimize toxicity.
Baking Soda Is Non-Toxic
Baking soda isn’t toxic at all because it’s designed for baking and other similar uses. So, applying such for any pest control purposes won’t expose you to any form of toxicity.
While this is true, the need to know about its efficacy still stands. Will it achieve the purpose for which it’s being used?
Will baking soda kill ants? There are similar products like baking soda that may kill ants. However, the level of efficacy matters. In other words, a product may kill ants but won’t do so effectively.
Under such circumstances, it becomes unreliable to apply for serious infestation cases.
Can baking soda kill ants? Here is your answer.
Baking Soda Natural Ant Killer
Yes, baking soda kills ants.
Our discussion has been centered on finding out whether baking soda kills ants or not. Baking soda will kill ants if you know how to apply it.
The point is to have them ingest the product. Now, ants won’t normally ingest baking soda.
It has to be made into the bait. In other words, baking soda has to be mixed with other ingredients.
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Results May be Different
When using baking soda for ant extermination, results may vary across users. This mostly boils down to the method of use and how well it’s applied.
This explains why people have different views about the potential of baking soda to kill ants.
One of the ineffective ways of using baking soda on ants is sprinkling them with it. Under such conditions, ants won’t normally budge.
In other words, no adverse effect is felt by ants because baking soda has to be ingested to have any real effect.
How Does Baking Soda Kill Ants?
To use this food ingredient on pests like ants, you’ll need to have an idea of how it works.
When ants ingest baking soda, a series of chemical reactions occur. Like most animals, ants have bodily acids that help with digestion. Of course, such acids are found in their digestive systems.
As baking soda is ingested, it reacts with acids in the ant’s digestive system, which leads to poisoning and eventual death. In some other explanations, claims are made about ants exploding due to this reaction (between acids and bicarbonate of soda).
The claim of ants exploding upon ingesting baking soda sounds quite dramatic and might not be entirely true. Whatever the case is, the main focus should be that these pests die when they ingest baking soda.
So, how do you apply baking soda for ant control?
Killing Ants With Sugar And Baking Soda
We stated that ants must ingest it for baking soda to kill ants. Bait infused with baking soda needs to be prepared for this to happen.
When it gets into their system, baking soda reacts with the acidic content within ants’ digestive system, leading to poisoning.
With the exterminating effect of baking soda on ants confirmed, explaining how to go about the process is necessary. To make baking soda attractive to ants, mix with confectioner’s sugar.
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Baking Soda And Sugar For Ants
Such sugar properly masks baking soda making these ants think they’re feeding on sugar.
Mix equal parts baking soda with the confectioner’s sugar to make your bait. Having poured both contents in a cup, consider adding some honey, peanut butter, or jam to make it even more appealing.
When using pure sugar, it’s necessary that you only go for the confectioner’s sugar to prevent ants from picking only the sugar.
Target areas where ants congregate the most to apply your baking soda poison. It won’t be long before they begin to feast on your bait. If you’re afraid for your pets, have the contents poured into an empty soda can.
Ants will climb in to feed on your bait. Plus, the same exterminating effect is achieved.
Other Baking Soda Ant Killer Recipes to Consider
There are other ways to take care of your ant problem using baking soda.
Food-grade diatomaceous earth can be introduced into the mix. With food-grade diatomaceous earth, you’re making your bait more potent.
Now, this product (diatomaceous earth is known to kill pests by dehydration.
As a non-toxic product, you can take care of your pest issues by having it mixed and sprinkled along ant paths. Of course, you might want to add some confectioner’s sugar to make them indulge more with your poison.
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Add Some Boric Acid
Boric acid is another ingredient you might add to your treatment for more potency.
However, boric is quite toxic, unlike baking soda, sugar, and diatomaceous earth. However, this shouldn’t be a problem if you have no kids or pets around.
If you do, you should consider other alternatives.
Will Baking Soda Use Resolve All Ant issues?
One of the primary considerations you should have is whether baking soda treatment gives you desired results or not. While many articles will speak to the affirmative, some others won’t.
Speaking, baking soda treatment might not give you 100% guarantees.
No treatment does.
However, baking soda won’t do a thorough extermination job compared to other treatments. Nevertheless, it will give you some form of result.
Is Baking Soda Toxic?
Remember we said baking soda is a common baking ingredient found in the pantry of most homes. That tells a lot about its safety. Baking soda isn’t toxic, which is why it’s widely used for a whole range of things. This versatile product can be used without fear of toxicity.
However, you’ll need to ensure your pets don’t ingest a significant amount of it as it could cause health issues.
Baking Soda Isn’t Designed for Pest Control.
With any DIY method, it’s important to understand the product you’re using. In the case of baking soda, it isn’t designed for ant extermination or pest control.
This means you shouldn’t expect much of the product. However, it’s necessary to do the needful in a thorough and careful application.
What Are the Causes?
Killing ants with baking soda only takes care of the effect. The cause of the problem remains. Speaking of cause, the sources of attraction will have to be eliminated.
In most situations, food is involved. Improved hygiene and sealing up all possible entry points will do the trick.
We’ve seen so far that baking soda kills ants.
However, it isn’t a foolproof method of ant control. In other words, it has several limitations.
Consider Adopting Preventive Treatment
After eliminating ants using baking soda, you may want to adopt a more comprehensive approach.
Prevention does the magic and involves a variety of actions. First off, you should understand that ants come into your home for a reason; food.
As such, your lifestyle may attract these pests to your home without your knowledge. It would help improve your hygiene by cleaning up after each meal. Also, soda cans and other sweet beverages should be properly disposed of. It would be best if you mopped spills and food crumbs cleared out.
Without these basic cleanup actions, you might find ants still coming around not long after completing the first treatment.
Conclusion
Homeowners deal with many pest problems ranging from bugs, wildlife, and others. Finding lasting solutions can present a bit of a challenge, especially when you have doubts about what works and what doesn’t.
Many home remedies are deployed against pest issues with varying degrees of efficacy.
One of them is baking soda. As a food ingredient, baking soda is quite common in most homes. People usually have varying degrees of attraction for home remedies depending on their perceived efficacy.
One of the many pest problems people use baking soda for is ant extermination.
In this article, you’ve learned all there is to know about the efficacy of baking soda on ants and how it’s used. If you have any doubts, the details presented here should clarify such.
