Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is an alkaline substance that can kill many pests by raising their blood pH to harmful levels. Many people are yet unaware if baking soda kills raccoons or not.
Yes, Baking soda can kill raccoons if they consume a large amount of it. However, this is not the most useful way to kill or even prevent raccoons. Baking soda reacts with stomach acids to form carbon dioxide gas. As a result, it accumulates within their system, eventually causing internal blockage and rupture. This even kills them.
To learn more, keep reading the article.
Do Raccoons Like The Smell Of Baking Soda?
No, Raccoons don’t like the smell of baking soda. Raccoons have a powerful ability to smell, which they use to discover comfortable food sources. This component can be exploited by using scents that they dislike. Some scents used to repel raccoons include baking soda, ammonia, onion, and Epsom salt.
Raccoons despise the odor of baking soda as do some humans. Put it in an aerated container close to the den. As a result, they will be put off by the smell.
When raccoons are looking for food, their smell senses serve as the effective way for them to find it. Baking soda is one of the beneficial scent options you can try if you have a raccoon problem because it bothers raccoons’ sense of smell. As a result, they are less likely to continue their food search. It can deter raccoons, but it isn’t always enough to keep them away.
Does Baking Soda Hurt Raccoons?
Yes, baking soda hurts raccoons. Baking soda is excellent at removing odors from food. If you sprinkle some in your vacant rubbish bin, it will make the can smell less appealing to raccoons, reducing their attraction to your home.
Baking soda can be dangerous if consumed in large quantities. If a raccoon consumes baking soda, it may suffer from gastrointestinal discomfort and even death. Furthermore, baking soda can cause skin and eye irritation in raccoons.
When using baking soda to kill raccoons, take care not to come into contact with the substance. It works by causing an electrolyte imbalance in the squirrel’s body, which eventually kills it.
Baking soda is not eaten by raccoons because it tastes and smells bad to them, this is due to preference or survival instinct. In any case, baking soda is toxic to raccoons because it damages their internal organs and exoskeleton when consumed.
What Food Is Poisonous To Raccoons Other Than Baking Soda?
Raccoons are poisoned by macadamia nuts, chocolate, and raisins due to high cyanide levels. Raccoons can get anemia from eating garlic and onions. As a result, when getting rid of the trash, you should take precautions because some items may be toxic to native animals.
Raccoons can be easily attracted and caught by using foods with a foul smell that is visible. This includes meat, fish, peanut butter, and dog food. These foods, particularly peanut butter, will entice raccoons (because of their smell).
Grapes are yet another food product that raccoons should avoid. While grapes may appear to be delicious treats but they contain an element called cyanide, which can make raccoons very sick or even kill them if consumed in large quantities.
Other cyanide-containing foods include peaches and plums; however, these fruits are less dangerous than grapes because they contain less of this toxin.
What Animals Does Baking Soda Kill Other Than Raccoons?
Baking soda can kills rats and mice other than raccoons. This is because when the baking soda enters their stomachs, it begins to produce a large amount of gas. Because mice cannot expel gas, they have no way of releasing it, and the internal pressure can eventually kill them.
Baking soda is inexpensive, widely available, and simple to use as a mouse repellent. It can take days or even weeks to kill a mouse. If you want a faster and less horrible death, this is not the best method of mouse killing.
To die, a rat would need to consume two to three grams of baking soda. The rat would also have to ingest it all at once, which is unlikely because baking soda is not one of the rat’s favorite foods and two to three grams is a large amount to consume all at once.
[3] Ways To Get Rid Of Raccoons Permanently
If you want to keep raccoons off your property without harming them. Here are three ways to deter raccoons.
Make Raccoons Repellent
Raccoons’ noses are extremely sensitive, and they are easily scared by certain smells and tastes, such as spice, when a liter of water, a few drops of liquid dish soap, and a bottle of hot sauce are combined.
Spray the mixture in areas where you’ve seen raccoon activity. Spices like caramel, black pepper, and chili powder aggravate a raccoon’s sense of smell and force it to seek refuge in a more suitable environment.
A natural raccoon repellent can be made by combining cayenne pepper and onion in boiling water.
Use Of Ammonia
Ammonia, a common household cleaner, has the same foul smell as urine, which raccoons hate. Douse some hankies in ammonia and place them in areas in which you’ve seen raccoon activity, or walk away and leave a bowl of ammonia near raccoon points of entry to your home.
This is especially effective for squirrels, raccoons, and deer. This ammonia fumigant is effective at repelling skunks, raccoons, and coyotes. Because urine has a similar scent to ammonia, some believe it has a repellent effect on some raccoons.
Use Fences
Raccoons are inventive, intelligent creatures who will seek food and can be found in compost piles, gardens, and fish ponds, among other places.
A fence can help shield crops, but be aware that raccoons can climb very well. The much more effective way to keep raccoons out is with electric fencing.
To keep raccoons out, install electric fences around the boundary of such areas. By constructing a fence with two wires, one six feet above the ground and the other 12 cm above the ground. This will keep raccoons at cove without putting the animals in danger.
Conclusion
Raccoons have renown for eating anything, but this isn’t entirely accurate. Although these animals can eat a wide variety of foods, some of them are toxic to them and will make them sick.
If raccoons consume a large amount of baking soda, they will die. They use their keen sense of smell to locate easily accessible food sources.
To put a value on this trait, use scents they find repulsive, such as baking soda and other salts, to retain them away from your property. Even so, garlic and bread, which are not toxic, may affect a raccoon’s digestive system.
References
Rice NC, Rauscher NA, Langston JL, Myers TM. Behavioral toxicity of sodium cyanide following oral ingestion in rats: Dose-dependent onset, severity, survival, and recovery. Food Chem Toxicol. 2018 Apr;114:145-154