When people wish to get rid of bugs, they often opt for store-bought sprays and other harmful chemicals right away. But what if the greatest way to get rid of pests is in your kitchen?
Baking soda is a white powder that is easy to find and helps keep pests away naturally.
People have been interested in conducting their own pest control lately, which has brought this common household item back into the spotlight. It’s a good thing to do. When blended with substances like water or sugar, baking soda is an inexpensive and eco-friendly way to cure problems instead of using harsh chemicals. Also, it’s safe to use around kids and pets, which isn’t true for a lot of other insecticides.
Let’s talk about how and why baking soda works and what kinds of bugs it works best on.
How to Get Rid of Pests using Baking Soda
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a naturally occurring chemical that is mildly abrasive, drying, and alkaline. People use it a lot to clean, get rid of scents, and even treat small health issues. But when it comes to pests, it becomes deadly for very specific biological reasons.
Here’s how it works:
Insects Can’t Break Down Gas: Cockroaches, ants, and bed bugs can’t break down gas the same way mammals can. When they eat baking soda, which is commonly mixed with sugar or another sweetener, it reacts with their stomach acid to generate carbon dioxide gas. These bugs can’t let the gas out, so it builds up inside them and kills them.
Desiccation: By breaking down the waxy outer layer of bugs, baking soda can dry them out. This messes with their water balance, which can kill them by making them too dry.
Rough Action: The rough surface of baking soda can crush the shells of soft-bodied bugs or mess up their digestive processes.
What sorts of bugs can baking soda kill?
Baking soda can be surprisingly good at getting rid of a lot of common pests in the home. You should go after these:
Roaches 🪳
It’s easy to attract cockroaches to come to a mix of baking soda and sugar since they adore sweet things. Put small bowls or bottle caps full of the mixture in dark locations, like under sinks, behind the fridge, and anywhere else you’ve seen roaches. If they consume it, it will start to kill them from the inside.
Ants
Like cockroaches, ants are likewise attracted to sugar. Mix equal amounts of baking soda and powdered sugar together and put it on ant trails or near places where they can get in. The ants will bring the mix back to the colony, where it will change the behavior of other ants and make them fewer.
Bugs in the Bed 🪰
Baking soda isn’t a whole treatment for bed bugs, but it can help as part of a bigger regimen. Sprinkle it sparingly on mattresses, carpets, and baseboards to kill pests and dry them off. Let it sit for 24 to 48 hours, then give it a good vacuum.
Other Crawlers 🕷️
Some bugs, including pill bugs (roly-polies) and even fleas, don’t enjoy how hard and dry baking soda is. It doesn’t always kill every bug, but it’s still an important tool for keeping them away and dealing with them.
How to Use Baking Soda to Get Rid of Pests
Baking soda is great because it’s so easy to use. You can perform these easy things:
1. A combination of sugar and baking soda
You need the same amount of sugar and baking soda.
Put it in small dishes or shallow containers close to where bugs are likely to be.
How It Works: The bugs are attracted to sugar, and baking soda kills them.
2. The Method of Sprinkling
Use: Lightly dust corners, baseboards, under sinks, and behind appliances.
Spread the ingredients out evenly using a sifter or fine sieve.
Note: You should reapply every few days and vacuum up any additional when you need to.\
3. Paste made with baking soda: Mix baking soda with a few drops of water to produce a paste.
Where to Use: Put it in cracks, crevices, or along windowsills where bugs like to hide.
You may also add a drop of peppermint oil to help it work better as a repellant.
Why not use baking soda instead of toxic sprays?
Not bad: Kids and pets can use it safely.
Cheap: It costs a lot less than other pest control products.
✅ Safe for the environment: It doesn’t carry harmful chemicals into the house. Most homes already have it in the pantry, so it’s easy to find.
Things to remember.
Baking soda is great for small pest problems or as a means to keep them away, but it might not be enough to get rid of a huge, well-established pest problem. If you have a lot of bedbugs or cockroaches, you should employ both do-it-yourself methods and professional pest control services.
You might also need to try something else because baking soda solutions might not work as well on spiders and bugs.
Baking soda is a terrific approach to get rid of a common household problem in a world where we are more careful of what we bring into our homes, such food and cleaning supplies. It’s simple, safe, and incredibly powerful.
Don’t go to the chemical aisle the next time you notice a line of ants or hear the sound of cockroach legs skittering behind your cupboard. Take the bright orange box out of the pantry. Your health, your home, and the globe will all be better off.