An infestation of ants in your home can be annoying. We daily encounter ants indoors and outdoors. Once they infest your home, they will build colonies around and if not controlled they tend to cause havoc and damage in your home. When settling for ways to get rid of ants, baking soda becomes one of the simple but effective home remedy.
But is this kitchen or natural remedy effective in getting rid of ants in your home? Keep reading to learn more about baking soda as the effective remedy. Although there are multiple insecticides or ant killers for getting rid of ants, most are toxic that can risk the health of you pets or children.
Finding non- toxic alternative means for getting rid of ants is key. Go for natural method or home remedies that are safe to use. Baking soda is one of the most commonly used natural killer methods. In this article, you will learn how to get rid of ants and stop infestation with baking soda.
Does baking soda kill ants? This a natural remedy is non –toxic and eco –friendly. When it comes in contact with the exoskeleton of the ants, it reacts with the digestive system of the ants suffocating them to death. Learn more in this post.
What is Baking Soda?
Simple definition of baking soda is basically white, powdery appearance with a natural salty taste. From scientific point of view, it is a base mineral better known chemically as sodium hydrogen carbonate. It is use in baking as a leavening agent to create air pocket and bubbles in baked items.
Most of the ants that infest your home are harmless and do not cause any structural problem. Baking soda is acidic mineral that comes in powder form.
Does Baking Soda Kill Ants?
Absolutely yes! Baking soda as a natural remedy kills all or most types of ants. When using baking soda you don’t have to worry the effects it will have on your health, kids or pets. It is non-toxic making it an eco-friendly natural remedy to use at home.
When you apply baking soda on ants, it kills them almost instantly. The chemical component of baking soda reacts with the digestive system of the ants suffocating them to death. When baking soda is applied on the ants, it makes their exoskeleton dry by absorbing water.
How Does Baking Soda Kill Ants?
To get rid of ants in your home, you can use baking soda to make natural insecticides sprays or baits. When you sprinkle the baking soda directly on the ants, it kills the ants by absorbing water from the ants suffocating them to death. It dries water from the ants’ exoskeleton completely drying the ants which makes the ants to suffocate and die.
When you mix vinegar and baking soda, it will give you quick killer ant. When you spray the mixture on the ants, it causes an explosive reaction which kills the ants almost immediately. When baking soda is combined with ant baits, the result is amazing and works more effectively.
Ant baits are used to attract the ants. The ants will consume the bait combined with baking soda before carry some of it to their nest which the whole colony will feed on. Once the ants in the colony feed on the bait mixed with baking soda, a chemical reactions will occur in their digestive system that will suffocate the ants eventually leading to their death.
How Long Does Baking Soda Take To Kill Ants?
Baking soda is a safe and natural remedy to get rid of ants. When you apply baking soda, it can kill the ants in a few hours. But the length or duration to get rid of the whole colony will depend on several factors such as type of ant or the level of infestation.
If you opt to make a spray out of baking soda keep in mind that homemade baking soda may take longer to kill the ants then the commercial ant killers. If your house is not heavily infested, it might take less days probably 2 to 4 days. A bigger infestation of ants can take more than a week to deal with it.
Most people tend to confuse baking soda with baking powder. Baking powder doesn’t kill ants, it is just another type of baking that is used for different purpose other than killing ants. Baking soda spray will kill the ants almost immediately after application. You can combine it with other natural remedies such as vinegar, diatomaceous earth etc.
How to Use Baking Soda to Kill Ants
Baking soda as described has the potential to kill ants and get rid of their infestation at home. The fact that you can use baking soda safely at home without risking your health and that of your pets, makes it an amazing remedy to use at home.
You can combine baking soda with ant baits. This ensures the whole colony is wiped out completely leaving your home ant – infestation free. So, are you ready to get rid of ants in your home? This is how to use baking soda to get the job done:
- Mix equal parts of baking soda with powdered sugar
- Place the mixture in infested area
The mixture of baking soda and powdered sugar acts as a natural ant bait. This mixture works best for carpenter ants but if you have fire ants infestation, you can use a mixture of baking soda with vinegar. You can also combine other ingredients such as honey, vitamin C powder or jam.
How to Get Rid of Ants with Baking Soda
Now that you know baking soda kill ants and it is effective as available commercial ants’ killers such as insecticides and pesticides, here we will discuss how to get rid of ants with baking soda. Most of the ants may not cause a serious structural damage but their presence is annoying.
You can prepare different types of baking soda ant killers to get rid of ants and their colonies. Add a variety dietary ant baits to effectively control ant infestation.
Learn how to get rid of ants’ infestation with baking soda from the following step by step instructions:
1. Inspecting the infested area
This is a simple but key step if you are going to deal with ants’ infestation effectively. Careful inspect the area where the ants are most likely to be coming from. This could be indoors or outdoors. Careful monitor the ants’ pheromone, their entry points and mounds. This helps to decide the amount of baking soda and any other combination you are going to use.
Just by observing and inspection you can determine how heavy the infestation is.
2. Applying Baking soda Ant Killers
This is the second and most important to effectively get rid of ants. Applying the baking soda on the ants shouldn’t be a problem. Since baking soda has been proven to kill ants just like most commercial ants bait, prepare a DIY baking soda ant killers. This will save you money and money as well.
This is how to make ant killer baits with baking soda:
Baking Soda Baits
To make an effective bait from baking soda, you must understand the eating behavior of the ants in your house. Most ant species love sugar. Trying mixing the baking soda and soda. You can also mix peanut and baking soda to attract the greasy ants.
A simple bait test can be done to check the eating behavior of certain ant species. If you are not sure of the types of ants invading your house, place a multiple baits either liquid or solid. This will target all types of ants and their nest.
For effective results, put the baking soda ant baits or traps just close to the ant trails and mound. This is to target the entire colony.
If the ant infestation is smaller, it can take less days to eliminate let’s say up to 4 days whereas a larger infestation can take a couple of weeks depending on the severity of infestation.
Baking Soda and Diatomaceous Earth Ant Killer
Diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic organic compound made from the shells of diatom. It is one of the most commonly used pest and ant control compound at home. You can combine baking soda and diatomaceous earth to get rid of ants in your house.
Sprinkle this mixture over the ant trails and mounds to get rid of their colonies. The mixture produces good results almost instantly or in a couple of days.
Borax and Baking Soda Ant Killer
Borax and baking is another excellent ant killer remedy to get rid of ants in your house. The mixture has the same potential as diatomaceous earth to not only get rid of ants but also their colonies. Just sprinkle the mixture directly on the ants and some on their mounds to get rid of their colonies. When handling borax powder, take precaution. It is toxic can cause eye problems and skin rashes.
Vinegar and Baking Soda to Kill Ants
This is another simple but effective remedy to get rid of ants in your house. To get rid of ants using this mixture, apply baking soda over the ant mounds and then sprinkle or pour vinegar over it. Naturally, baking soda is acidic and when mixed with vinegar, another acid, it causes an explosive reaction.
This mixture reacts with the exoskeleton of the ants which causes suffocation eventually leading to their death. It is safe to use and kill the ants inside the mounds.
3. Prevention re-infestation using Baking Soda
Once you succeed in getting rid of ants the next step is stop re-infestation. Prevent ants from coming back into your house by creating a barrier of baking soda around all the access points. You can also use baking soda and vinegar spray to keep the ants away.
You can monitor the areas treated a few days later to make sure all the ants are gone and there is no sign of ants’ trails and mounds. Eliminate all the possible factors that can attract the ants back into your house. Make sure your kitchen is dry as soon as you are done using it.
Is Baking Soda Really Effective In Getting Rid of Ants?
Ants cannot survive in an environment or areas where baking soda is sprinkled. Baking soda is a natural and effective remedy to get rid of ants and other pests at home and in your garden. Baking soda is not only eco-friendly but also non-toxic in nature therefore safe to use at home.
You may opt for other commercial insecticides found online. They include:
