Can You Kill Rats With Baking Soda?
Rats can be killed using baking soda in the powder form or by mixing it with other ingredients, such as flour and sugar, which the rats can eat. When ingested, baking soda acts as a poison for the rodents by creating excessive gas in their stomachs, explains Knoji.
Since rodents cannot belch like humans do, they are unable to expel the excess gas that builds up after consumption of baking soda. The built-up gas ultimately kills them.
To kill rats, baking soda powder can be sprinkled around those areas of the house that the rats visit frequently. Rats that run over the powder lick their paws to clean them and thus ingest baking soda. Alternately, baking soda can be mixed with sugar and flour to form edible balls for the rodents. Corn meal, chocolate bits and peanut butter can also be added to the mixture to make the balls more attractive to the rats. The balls can be placed inside plastic containers, which in turn can be kept in areas frequented by the rats.
Although baking soda can kill rats, it does not affect them neurologically like traditional rat poison does. This increases the risk of the pests dying inside the home, which can lead to foul-odor issues.