There is nothing as irritating as having pests in the house, especially bedbugs. These little annoying organisms have such a horrible stench that can ruin your whole day. Just pray they don’t land near your nose -- or anywhere near your body, for that matter. Just like yesterday, bedbugs are something you need to let go and get rid of immediately. You don’t want them to keep feeding on your blood.
Although there are professional fumigators that can help you get rid of them, why not try a DIY method and save some dollars? Well, there is a popular assumption that baking soda can kill bugs. Now, can baking soda really kill bedbugs? Is it a fact or a myth? Let’s find out.
People use baking soda to get rid of bedbugs from their homes. To some extent, this works because of the properties of sodium bicarbonate, baking soda's sole ingredient.
Why do people prefer baking soda?
Baking soda is very safe to use at home. Usually, it is used in the kitchen for cooking, baking, cleaning, disinfecting, and as medicine. This makes it harmless and one of the best options of getting rid of bugs. Other commercial remedies are usually harmful to humans. You don’t want your kids or pets coming across them. They can also be irritating to your skin. Something gentle like sodium bicarbonate is the real deal. Baking soda is also very economical.
What’s the theory behind using baking soda for killing bedbugs?
According to people’s speculations, this powder kills bedbugs in the following ways:
Dehydration
Baking soda is a salt. It has the ability to absorb water and moisture from the environment. This makes it able to absorb water from bugs, making them dehydrated. Bugs have a waxy shell which protects them from dehydration. However, baking soda can absorb the fluids present in the wax and make the bug lose excess water and hence die.
Exoskeleton
Bedbugs have a very soft skin on the lower side of their bodies. This skin can easily be cut through even by soft crystals of baking soda. Cutting through the belly of a bedbug can make it bleed internally, contract infections, or lose water to the environment. This makes the bug very vulnerable and leads it to a slow death.
Gas Buildup
When a bedbug ingests baking soda, digestion takes place, changing the compounds present in the powder. Eventually, it produces carbon IV oxide gas which then builds up in the body of the bug. Excess carbon IV oxide gas can fill up the internal organs, making them to burst. Can a bug survive with burst organs? No.
Suffocation
Unlike human beings, tiny organisms like bedbugs do not have lungs for breathing. Instead, air enters their bodies through tiny holes on their abdomens. Sprinkling baking soda crystals on bedbugs clogs their breathing holes, making it difficult for oxygen to enter their breathing system. This deprives them air for survival, making them suffocate to death.
Scientific explanations
Well, it’s easy to come up with a theory to explain how bedbugs get killed by baking soda. The theories make sense, yes. But are they legitimate? Does baking soda kill bedbugs? Stay tuned.
- Baking soda is only good at absorbing odors and some acidic chemicals but not things as thick as wax. How it absorbs wax and dehydrates the bug is something up for discussion.
- Baking soda crystals are very fine. How does a fine crystal pierce through the skin of a bedbug? Even if it may, the injury won’t be severe enough to kill the organism through bleeding.
- Bedbugs do not eat dry things like baking soda crystals. How do they find their way into the bug’s digestive system? They don’t even have mouths. All they do is pierce through the skin and suck blood.
- Baking soda crystals are neither sticky nor waxy. How do they even clog the bug’s breathing pores? As long as the bug is in motion, any powder that gets on its body can fall off.
These scientific discoveries make all the theories false.
Baking soda can kill bedbugs; myth or fact?
No evidence has surfaced showing that indeed baking soda is an effective option for getting rid of bedbugs. Many people die trying the easy and cheaper way out. However, they end up disappointed and call professional fumigators whom they had avoided in the first place.
Cheap is always expensive. It’s not that bedbugs do not react with baking soda. It’s only that this reaction can be rare or extremely slow. Getting rid of bugs is not a walk in the park. It needs patience and hard work, although professionals deal with them instantly. Precisely, the notion that baking soda can kill bedbugs is a complete myth. Save your time before you get disappointed.
