How to Kill Ants with Baking Soda: The Definitive Guide

Do you have a problem with ants in your home? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of people deal with ant infestations each year. While there are many ways to get rid of ants, one of the most popular is using baking soda.

When ants eat baking soda, it kills them by drying out their bodies from the inside. This happens very quickly. Ants will die in a few minutes after eating baking soda.

The Science Behind Killing Ants With Baking Soda

Are you unsure that baking soda can help cure your ant problem? There is scientific proof to support this idea.

Baking soda affects the body’s pH balance. While it is safe for people, it is deadly to ants.

Here’s how it works:

The baking soda reacts with the ant’s digestive chemicals and produces carbon dioxide when it is consumed by the ants. Some internet theories suggest that baking soda will cause ants to explode. We don’t know if they’ll burst, but we do know that drying out their bodies is lethal to them.

To understand how the baking soda approach may work, consider how ants live and function. Ants live in colonies, and each ant has a distinct job. Some ants are in charge of caring for the eggs after the queen lays them, while other ants go out and collect food for their colony.

Worker ants go out to forage for food and bring it back to the colony to feed the other ants. So, when they return your baking soda solution to their nest, they’re really contributing to the extermination of all of the other ants in their colony.

If you’re lucky, the colony will destroy the queen. You won’t have to deal with any additional infestations (at least not from that colony) after the queen ant is dead.

How You Can Use Baking Soda To Kill Ants

The most effective way to get rid of an ant problem is to exterminate the colony rather than just particular ants. Fortunately, ants are scavenging insects that will go out for food and bring it back to the nest for others to consume. You can destroy the entire colony with little effort if you add baking soda to their food supply.

The easiest method to get rid of ants from a kitchen is to use a combination of baking soda and powdered sugar. To keep your powder contained, use a small container (like the top of a jar). Try placing your ant-killing powder next to the colony’s nest for the greatest impact.

The sugar will attract the ants, who will collect up the powder containing the baking soda and bring it home to their colony to consume. Once they’ve eaten the powder, the ants die rapidly.

• Sprinkle the mix over and around the nest if you know where it is. If you see any holes in the nest, add a spoonful of mixture there as well.
• If the bait has worked and you haven’t seen any ants for a few hours, seal up the holes that they’ve used to get inside your house so they can’t get back in. If it hasn’t worked after several applications, just try again with a larger amount of the solution.
• If you have any extra mixture, save it for later in a jar. Just make sure to label the container clearly so you can find it again when the next colony takes over.

Is Baking Soda Safe For Your Kids & Pets?

Despite the fact that your baking soda solution can kill thousands of ants, it is not harmful to children or pets in the amounts you’ll be creating it. It simply won’t taste very good, but thankfully it’s non-toxic.

Just don’t leave the mixture out or leave a mound of it on the nest. Although it is nontoxic, it can cause an upset stomach if your child or pets eat some of it. Baking soda is non-irritating, so it won’t cause any skin problems even if your pet or children touches it.

You can be sure that it is safe to be consumed in tiny quantities if you can put baking soda and sugar into cakes, or toothpaste.

Alternative Natural Ant Insecticides

If you don’t have any baking soda, there are a variety of other natural and efficient home treatments to try.

Keep Ants Away With Talcum Powder

Sprinkle a line of talcum powder along pathways to keep ants out of your home. To make a barrier that ants won’t cross, lay a line of the powder along entry points (such as under door frames and around window sills).

Use A Sugar & Borax Mixture

Boric acid is a commonly available, highly effective ant-killers. Combine one part borax with three parts white sugar and slowly add water and stir until smooth. Place the paste in jar lids and leave it in areas where there are a lot of ant sightings.

Make A Dish Soap & Water Spray

Homemade ant-killing spray is simple to make and only takes a few minutes. Only water, dish soap, and a spray bottle are required. To combine equal parts water and dish soap in the spray bottle, shake well, and begin spraying ants. This is a kill-on-contact solution, so it will just harm the ants that are directly sprayed with it. You’ll need another method to target the ants as well as the queen at the colony.

White Vinegar & Water Spray

Ants may also be destroyed with a solution of equal parts water and white vinegar. Sprinkle both ingredients in a spray bottle and spritz ants you see around your property. To keep ants out of your house, use this spray to eradicate ant trails and possible entry ways. If you don’t have access to white vinegar, use lemon juice instead.

Conclusion

Baking soda does kill ants and does so quickly. You can use it to keep them out of your home, or you can use it to get rid of an ant colony that has already taken up residence.

There are also a number of other natural remedies that you can use to get rid of ants, including dish soap and water sprays, white vinegar and water sprays, talcum powder barriers, and sugar borax pastes. Just be sure to read the label on any Borax before using it, as it can be harmful if ingested in high quantities.

Did you know that baking soda does kill ants? What other home remedies do you use to get rid of them in your house? Let us know in the comments below.