When ants invade the house, searching for home remedies may lead you to baking soda. But does baking soda kill ants? Will it only kill them in your house, or will it kill them outside too?
Baking soda is a reliable ant killer. And being a household staple, you probably already have a box in your home, and even if you don’t, you can usually find one at the store for under $1. So whether these insects invade your porch or take over the kitchen, you can quickly get rid of them with baking soda.
Are you excited to get rid of ants in your house? We’ve got a guide on how to use baking soda to resolve ant infestation in your home, plus some guidance on keeping your house ant-free.
How Effective is Baking Soda at Killing Ants?
Baking soda really does the job of getting rid of ants inside your house. But it is not 100% effective in killing these insects. Leaving only a trail of this ingredient is unlikely to be effective in killing ants because ants are not very attracted to baking soda.
As such, you need to trick the ants into going to baking soda. To entice them, mix baking soda with another ingredient, like sugar. However, ants are wise, so they might eat only sugar, so you might want to use powdered sugar as it looks like baking soda.
How Long Does Baking Soda Take To Kill Ants?
Note that they must eat baking soda to ensure they will die. Once they have eaten this ingredient, they will die in a few minutes. But this also means that they can still go back to their colony. So to ensure that they will eat baking soda, you can sprinkle some on their nest.
How Does Baking Soda Kill Ants?
Well, allow us to take you back to your school science lessons. Do you remember that when you mix baking soda and vinegar together, an eruption of bubbles forms? Well, these bubbles are chemical reactions creating carbon dioxide.
Thus, when ants ingest baking soda, it reacts with the acid inside their stomach. The baking soda dries out their body, causing them to die.
The ants you see marching around the house are worker ants. Their job is to collect food and return to their nest to feed other ants. Unknowingly, these ants can collect baking soda and hopefully bring it to the queen ant, and she will eat it. If this happens, you will never have a problem anymore because both baby and mother ants will die.
Does Baking Soda Kill Ants Outside?
Yes, baking soda can kill ants outside. You can use the same methods inside the house to kill ants when killing them outdoors. If you notice holes near or outside your home, sprinkle the baking soda on their nest directly. This method will kill many ants outside and prevent them from getting inside the house.
How to Use Baking Soda to Get Rid of Ants
Are you excited to get rid of ants in your home? No need to buy any insecticide. Just follow this baking soda method to kill ants.
Things You’ll Need:
- Baking Soda
- Powdered Sugar
- Jars and Lids
- Measuring Spoon
Instructions
- Mix equal parts of baking soda and powdered sugar. It is ideal to use ¾ tablespoons of each ingredient.
- Put the mixture into a jar with a lid and shake it. The sugar will entice the ant, and the baking soda is what kills them.
- Place the jar in strategic locations. Wait until the ant march toward the baking soda. You can put the mixture directly into the ant colony or areas where the ants are prevalent. Once these tiny creatures ingest the baking soda, they die in a few minutes.
Other Ways to Get Rid of Ants
Depending on your situation, the most effective way to solve the ant infestation problem in your house is to hire a call a pest control professional. But if you want to keep it natural, here are other ways to kill ants without harmful chemicals.
Clean the House
The most basic method to eliminate or prevent ants from invading the house is to keep it clean. Clean and keep all surfaces clean, especially your kitchen. Clean the counters and cabinet, sweep and mop the floor, and don’t leave food crumbs anywhere. If you don’t want to clean the house or you don’t have time, hire a professional cleaner.
Peppermint or Tea Tree Oil
These essential oils are natural insect repellants. They can repeal insects like ants and even mosquitos. This is an easy remedy, but it should not be used with pets at home, as peppermint can make them sick if ingested.
Boiling water
This remedy is only effective if you find the nest or holes where ants hide. Simply pour the boiling water into the hole to kill the ants. However, this remedy alone cannot kill the entire colony, but it does the job of killing ants.
Vinegar
Ants dislike vinegar. Hence, you can use this solution to eliminate these annoying little creatures. To do so, pour the vinegar into the ant nest.
But for more effective killing power, you must mix vinegar with water and liquid soap. Vinegar can kill plants, so use the solution carefully if you use them near lawns.
For more ways to kill ants with vinegar, read our post – Can Vinegar Kill Ants?
Benefits of Baking Soda to Kill Ants
There are a lot of reasons why we recommend using baking soda to get rid of ants in the house. Here are the biggest reasons why:
Readily Available
Baking soda is a very common household product, so most people usually have it somewhere in their homes, making it easy to start using.
Affordable
Why use expensive commercial ant pesticides when you can usually buy baking soda and sugar for a couple of bucks? Baking soda is cheap and doesn’t contain harsh chemicals.
Safe
Baking soda is the safest method you can use to kill ants in the house. It is safe around you, your children, and your pets. Using harsh chemicals, though, is a risk, especially since kids and pets may touch and ingest them.
Should You Use Baking Soda to Kill Ants?
Now that you know how to get rid of ants, it’s also important to know that having them around the house is not bad news at all. Small numbers of ants are generally normal, so it is not a problem at all. But when their numbers grow, it is time to use baking soda to your advantage.
However, calling pest control is helpful when the ant infestation is already severe and out of control. But if you can’t afford it or are simply looking for a natural and safe remedy, you can’t go wrong with baking soda.
Conclusion
Now that you have learned how to use baking soda to kill ants safely and inexpensively. With the summer upon us, ants will be in search of food and you can be ready for them.
You no longer need to search online for the best products to kill ants. You can follow this guide, watch, and wait until these annoying little critters die.
To learn what other pests baking soda can kill, check out our article – Does Baking Soda Kill Fleas? or Does Baking Soda Kill Bed Bugs?