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Does baking soda kill ants


Does Baking Soda Kill Ants? (Is It Effective or Not?)

When you’ve got an unsettling ant infestation on your hands, the search for a simple home remedy may lead you to baking soda.

But is this kitchen staple really effective in helping you get rid of ants inside your home or in your garden?

Let’s find out!

Keep reading to learn more about baking soda as a potent ant pesticide.

Reviewed By:

Ed Spicer

Ed has been working in the pest control industry for years helping 1,000's of homeowners navigate the world of insect and rodent management. He manages Pest Strategies now helping homeowners around the world!

Table of Contents

Ants as Pests – Basic Information

We all can agree that ants are among the most common household and garden pests.  In order to understand how baking soda can fight off these insects, we should first take a deeper look into their invasive nature.

In fact, there are about 12,000 known species of ants! The most commonly-recognized types are fire ants, crazy ants, carpenter ants, and ghost ants. These insects are known as the super workers of the animal kingdom. This comes as no surprise, considering the fact that an ant is capable of carrying up to 50 times its own body weight on its back!

Read Also: What do ants like to eat?

As social insects, the strength of ants is in their numbers, and an infestation can be very frustrating especially if it takes place inside your home. Ants are omnivorous—they’ll devour crops just as gladly as they’ll munch on other insects.

Ants also have an unrivaled appetite for sweets such as honey, maple syrup, and sugar. These insects scavenge virtually anything they can consume—from leftovers to crumbs or droppings—to support their colony.

Some ant species build their nests through mounds of soil (otherwise known as ant hills) which can be a garden problem. On the other hand, other species such as carpenter ants establish their colonies inside the home—potentially damaging its foundation.

Although most ants are practically harmless, some species bite or sting—leaving trails of swollen spots or blisters on skin. These itchy, painful spots can, in the worst cases, trigger allergic reactions.

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What Is Baking Soda?

Baking soda, at its core, is a base mineral. The scientists among us might know it better by its chemical name: sodium hydrogen carbonate.

Laymen, though, will known baking soda by its white, powdery appearance and its salty taste. Essentially, this element is used in baking as a leavening agent to create air pockets and bubbles in the baked goods.

Baking powder, which is often mistaken interchangeably for baking soda, is a mixture of the latter, an acid mineral, and a small amount of cornstarch.

Baking soda is much more than just a main ingredient of our baked favorites such as muffins, banana bread, and brownies (among many others).

As a natural cleaning agent, baking soda knocks out the toughest stains, grime, and bathroom mildews. It can be used to de-clog sinks and deodorize your home. As part of a beauty regimen, baking soda can be used to improve hair and skin texture, as well as whiten teeth.

Read Also: Does cornmeal kill ants?

What Is Baking powder?

Backing powder, which is often mistaken interchangeably for baking soda, is a mixture of the latter, an acid mineral, and a small amount of cornstarch.

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Can Baking Soda Kill Ants?

We hate to burst your baking soda bubble. But…this element as an ant insecticide is, in fact, just a myth.

There are rumors circulating around the internet that baking soda, when mixed with equal parts powdered sugar, will effectively kill ants.

As natural scavengers, ants take this homemade poison back to their nest and infect the rest of the colony. When ingested, baking soda produces bubbles of carbon dioxide, which explode the infected ant from the inside out.

Here’s what we know: no scientific evidence has proven this theory. Unfortunately, we can’t confirm or deny this notion, because there’s no reputable source to back up these claims.

What we recommend instead: know the facts. Research the best ways to properly deal with ants in your home, around your property, and in your garden.

Always remember: if the pest control solution seems too good to be true…it probably is. Protect your home, your family, and yourself from these biting insects and invest in the proper tools to eradicate them for good.

Essential Guides

Does baking soda kill ants? |

(Image credit: Getty Images)

When you’ve got an unwanted ant infestation on your hands, the search for a simple home remedy may lead you to baking soda. But is this kitchen staple really effective in helping you get rid of ants inside your home or in your backyard?

Ants generally build nests outside, but food, beverages and moisture can attract them indoors, making tackling these insects early essential. Ants are very common, and like fruit flies and gnats, are likely to be a nuisance in high summer. The good news is that proven cleaning tips can keep them at bay, along with common pantry staples, such as baking soda, and even vinegar. 

We’ve got the lowdown on whether baking soda kills ants, plus the experts’ guidance on keeping your home and patio ant-free. 

Does baking soda kill ants?

Baking soda is one of the most effective way to take out an ant infestation. And, it is always a good idea to target the whole colony at once if you want to stop the outbreak in its tracks. 

You might be wondering why do ants come into the house? 'Water and a wide variety of food attract ants,' says Rachel Crow, garden editor at Homes & Gardens. 'And when that brings them inside it’s important to know how to get rid of ants. These are the options.'

Fortunately, ants will do most of the hard work for you – as foraging pests, they will seek out food and carry it back to their nest for their colony. If you lace their food source with baking soda, you can stop the entire colony with minimal effort or expense.

(Image credit: GettyImages)

Should you get rid of ants?

It is important to remember that ants aren't all bad news. While you might spot little piles of soil revealing the entrance to a nest between the cracks in paving, or maybe a pin-prick bite will be your first warning that ants are active in the yard. Small numbers of ants are always around and aren’t generally a problem. Ants do some good by aerating soil, helping to break down organic material, and devouring other pest insects. However, if numbers build up their nests can undermine plants; they ‘farm’ aphids on plants causing considerable damage; and some species like the red ant, wood ants and flying ants can bite. 

There are more than 1,000 ant species in the US. The carpenter ant tends to be the most common and problematic. They often make nests close to seating areas where food crumbs provide an easy meal, so the first line of defence is good hygiene. Clear up around outdoor eating areas; don’t leave pet food on the ground for long periods; make sure rubbish bins are covered; and keep compost bins enclosed and turn them regularly to disturb nests.

Will baking sofa and vinegar kill ants?

Homemade bug sprays should only be used as a short term solution to kill or get rid of ant infestations – at the same time as treating pests, think of adding other plants to your yard that will encourage insects and animals that prey on the problem bug, such as beetles, lizards, caterpillars and toads. 

It seems that there is no end to the abilities of vinegar, especially when you take into account the numerous ways of cleaning with vinegar, but did you know that it can also be used as a bug spray when combined with water and baking soda?

Simply sprinkle baking sofa directly on an ant nest, then spray with white vinegar. This will cause an a foam-like reaction to help kill the nest. The acetic acid in the vinegar will treat a wide range of garden and common houseplant pests but it requires contact. 

How can I deter ants naturally?

There are also numerous fragrant flowers and plants that deter ants from your home, too. Basil has certain aromatic oils which are known to repel unwanted pests, such as ants, spiders, flies and mosquitos, while rosemary releases an intense odour to repel ants. Chrysanthemum is also a hard-working multi-tasker that will deal with multiple bugs at home. This popular flower contains pyrethrum, which is frequently used in natural insect repellents.

Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world. Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.

Soda for ants in the garden (including food): how to get rid of pests

Ants in the garden is a whole topic for discussion. How many copies were broken in the hot battle between the supporters of these hard-working insects and their opponents. One thing is clear - ants, being in a summer cottage, not only loosen the soil and drive aphids into separate foci, but also carry the sown seeds, spoil the ovaries and even feast on ripe fruits. And their number makes us think that something needs to be done about this problem, and urgently. Chemical and folk remedies to help us. However, it is better, of course, to use folk methods - they are safe for the soil and plants. And ordinary baking soda in your hands can be a real nuclear bomb for the inhabitants of ant skyscrapers.

Contents

Why get rid of ants?

Quite a logical question, given that ants are the real orderlies of the site, attacking many pests and significantly improving the composition and structure of the topsoil. But sometimes, when, while weeding beds from weeds, you come across a swarming, loose mound, whose inhabitants militantly raise their paws at the sight of approaching hands in garden gloves, you don’t really want to coexist with this brethren on your site. But that's not the only reason to think about getting rid of ants.

Many people logically associate ants with aphids - a malicious pest of garden crops. They collect it in large quantities on the tops of young shoots and graze it like a herd of cows. For plants, this situation turns out to be extremely unpleasant - the aphid sucking all the vital juices makes the shoots that were recently juicy green quickly dry out. Yes, and ants are able to process the branches and leaves of shrubs with their acid in order to create a comfortable house on the plant for this very aphid. From such an impact, the leaves become covered with bubbles, roll up into a tube, and the shoots begin to curve ugly and slow down in growth. Any gardener is unlikely to like everything that happens.

Another problem is zero germination of seeds when planted next to ant trails or dwellings. It often happens that gardeners dig up the places where ants are present and plant the seeds of a vegetable crop in the holes, and then after a while they are surprised at the absence of any seedlings. This is the work of ants, who, not intending to put up with an unplanned resettlement, restore their paths and easily drag away precious seeds from the loose soil.

Ants have a real sweet tooth, they are happy to pounce on any sweet and ripe fruit. And even if the damage from them is incommensurable with the damage caused by aphids, the fact of such sabotage also will not win the sympathy of gardeners.

There is another opinion that ants gnaw the roots of plants, causing them to suddenly wither, but it has not yet been finally confirmed.

However, if you are burning with a thirst for revenge or simply do not want to live in the neighborhood with numerous restless hordes of garden ants, it's time to take action.

Proven method

Among all folk and chemical remedies we find soda and are surprised at the good reviews about it. It turns out that such a simple thing that is in every home can expel ants from their home. It has long been used on domestic ants, and garden ants are no exception. The reason for the success of soda must be sought in the chemical reaction that occurs between soda and acid, which is found in excess in the ant's body. For an ant, this reaction means a painful death, which is why, when processing ant settlements, their inhabitants hurriedly leave their homes.

Soda-based products

There are many soda-based products. Let's describe the most popular of them.

Two tablespoons of soda are poured into a two-liter bottle and poured with boiling water. The mixture is shaken and poured onto the anthill, after which it is sprinkled with earth on top or covered with a dense material, blocking the access of oxygen.

Do not be afraid to use soda on the soil - in such quantities it will not hurt, but the ants will almost certainly leave their settlement.

To make the deadly treat more attractive to ants, it is recommended to mix baking soda with powdered sugar in equal proportions and sprinkle the anthill with this composition. Sweet powder will lure insects, who will enthusiastically pounce on the bait, and then the soda will do its job.

Sometimes it is not necessary to mix soda with anything, it is enough to sprinkle it on the place where ants live - this has the desired effect, the insects hurriedly leave their home.

A completely simple recipe - three tablespoons of soda per liter of water, pour the resulting solution into an anthill and wave a pen to its inhabitants.

A simple combination of baking soda and vinegar has a killer effect. We stir the anthill with a stick, creating a small crater, pour soda into it, filling it halfway, and then pour it with vinegar. This is even scary to imagine, and it’s hard to imagine what the ants will experience. Cover the destroyed anthill with turf from above and give the nuclear mixture time to clean up.

And these simple recipes are the main examples of what can be offered to ants. As you can see, baking soda itself remains the main element - it is either used alone, or in combination with water, or with something sweet that attracts the attention of insects.

Photo Gallery of Baking Soda Products

Vinegar makes a hell of a mixture with baking soda
Powdered sugar attracts ants, baking soda kills
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Boiling water itself is a formidable weapon against ants, and in combination with soda it is doubly dangerous

Method safety for the soil

soil composition. However, in fact, in order to achieve such an effect, it will take a lot of soda. In the quantities it is used in recipes, it will not change the state of affairs in terms of soil acidity.

The effect of soda

The effect of the use of soda, as a rule, manifests itself quickly - a whole army of ants hastily drags everything that is most expensive from the affected area within the next ten minutes. Many ants die almost immediately upon contact with baking soda. Those that survive do not return to their original place.

There is one thing - soda is a potent agent, but its use only forces the ants to move to another safe place. Where? Again, in your area. It is unlikely that it will be possible to destroy ants with soda, as well as with other means.

It turns out that you can drive ant colonies around the site all the time, moving from place to place. Unless, of course, you use soda pointwise. It is likely that with mass processing you will be able to basically get rid of them. But only for a while.

Reviews

If you look on the Internet and wander through its expanses in search of reviews on the use of soda, then for obvious reasons you will find a variety of responses - it helped someone a lot, the effect seemed almost imperceptible to someone, and someone argues that such measures bring relief only for a short period of time. All this is understandable, because the same thing happens when using other means, and each person may have his own expectations. However, using soda is more beneficial than the same chemicals that poison the soil and make it unsuitable for growing plants. Soda is a natural resource, a way to gently influence the flora and fauna without harming it, but at the same time achieving the goal.

The safety of baking soda is undeniable, as is its usefulness. However, trying with all your might to finally remove the ants from your site, think about whether this is necessary. Without ants, the ecological system of the site may be disrupted, and instead of them, completely different, much more dangerous pests will begin to take over, which, with ants, could not manifest themselves in full force. That is why it is better to live in harmony with nature, and use soda only to move the ant family from one place to another, so that the plantings are not interfered with. It is not necessary to drive them out of the site completely.

I love the nature and beauty of the surrounding world, I cover it in my articles and try to contribute to the realization of beauty in life.

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Soda from ants in the garden and in the greenhouse

Ants that settled in the garden loosen the soil and facilitate the access of oxygen to the root system of plants. But the harm from these insects is much greater. They breed aphids, eat seeds, gnaw on ripe fruits and berries. In addition, the bites of "pests" are painful, and can provoke the development of an allergic reaction. But when ants appear, you don’t need to run to the store and purchase chemicals. My mother-in-law taught me how to deal with unwanted "guests" a long time ago.

To understand why ants leave the area when ordinary baking soda is used, it is enough to recall school chemistry lessons. Sodium bicarbonate is an alkali. This substance has a neutralizing effect, and the bodies of insects are saturated with formic acid. Getting pests into the digestive tract, it destroys them from the inside.

Soda is safe for people, available and cheap, begins to act in the first hours after application, universal. Can be used dry or in powder form.

Warning !

No need to be afraid of alkalization of the soil. In the amount that it is used for ants, it does not produce a negative effect. Moreover, the substance has an antibacterial effect and inhibits the development of pathogenic microorganisms in the beds, causing the development of root rot.

There are several applications. Less cruel, in which insects leave their chosen place, and tough - destroying the anthill.

Soda solution

In high concentration it can destroy an anthill in 1-2 hours, in low concentration it can drive pests away from beds:

  1. Composition proportions: 50 g of sodium bicarbonate - 10 l of warm water. Mix, spray the surface of the beds, trying not to get on the leaves. When used in a greenhouse, not only the ground is processed, but also the frames of the greenhouses and the ground around them from the outside.
  2. Making "fizz" - 1 liter of water: 3 tbsp. l. soda. It is poured onto an anthill, covered with turf and covered with cling film to stop air from entering. The method is effective and quite cruel.

Use the last prescription very carefully. The composition foams, splashes on the skin can leave painful burns.

Sweet bait

This is the way my mother-in-law prefers. Sugar is ground in a coffee grinder, mixed with food alkali in a ratio of 1: 1, mixed thoroughly. Sprinkle ant paths, "trodden" in the garden, as well as an anthill around the perimeter. You can do without sugar, but in this case, the pests can hide for a while, and after the rain the raids will begin again. For greater efficiency, water is added to the prepared mixture to give viscosity, and pieces of bait are laid out in the same way.

The disadvantage of this method is that insects can hide temporarily and return to raids after another rain. Or they will transfer the anthill to another bed.

Soda and auxiliaries

Sodium bicarbonate mixed with auxiliaries to kill pests:

  1. With vinegar. Destroys the settlement of pests completely. It is necessary to stir up the anthill with a stick, pour it with a bite, pour in a pack of soda, throw it with a layer of earth and cover it with polyethylene. There will be no more anthills in this place.
  2. With salt. Mix the ingredients 1: 1, sprinkle abundantly on paths, beds around the perimeter, near-trunk circles around berry bushes and fruit trees.
  3. With pepper powder. It is used in the same way as salt, or together with it.

Another relatively humane way is to combine with coffee grounds. Suitable only for those who prefer a drink made from freshly ground coffee. A circle of sodium bicarbonate powder is poured around the settlement, and the anthill itself is regularly poured with coffee grounds. Insects fall asleep, do not leave the dwelling for fishing, and when the internal reserves run out, the uterus dies. In the end, insects will flee from the chosen area.

Warning !

The quality of the soil must be taken into account when using methods for destroying unwanted guests.

Reviews

Tatyana Vladimirovna, 68 years old, Agidel:

When destroying anthills, keep the grandchildren away.

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