Does Baking Soda Kill Mice? 5 Alternatives You May Prefer to Use

Rat and mousetraps
Image Source/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Written by Kirstin Harrington

Published: July 31, 2024

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Do you have a mouse problem in your home? You may have read that baking soda can take care of these pesky rodents. While baking soda alone isn’t likely to kill mice, you can use plenty of things to get the job done. 

Here’s what you need to know about using baking soda to repel mice and helpful prevention methods that work wonders! 

Can You Use Baking Soda to Kill Mice? 

baking soda

Mice will avoid baking soda unless mixed with something they find enticing.

Many blog posts will tell you that baking soda can kill mice. This kitchen staple has bicarbonate, which adversely reacts to a mouse’s stomach acid. When the two mix, it creates carbon dioxide.

This gas quickly builds up within the rodent’s digestive system, causing a fatal blockage. Here’s the issue: mice won’t just walk up to a mound of baking soda and start snacking. To effectively use baking soda to kill mice, it has to be mixed with something they find tasty. 

You can mix baking soda with peanut butter, roll it into balls, and place them where you believe the mice are around your home. Another suggestion is to mix baking soda, flour, and sugar into a shallow bowl. 

Lastly, mice like chocolate as much as people do! Put some cocoa powder and baking soda in a dish before sprinkling sugar. Place this mixture in your home, and the mice will quickly consume it! 

5 Alternatives to Baking Soda

Now that you know how to use baking soda to kill mice, what other methods exist to try? Here are a handful of things around your home that can help you with any rodent issues you may be facing. 

1. Artificial Sweetener

Natural sweetener sorbitol is poured from the cup. Selective focus, closeup.

Artificial sweetener lures mice in because they love anything sweet!

Consider using aspartame if you’re in this game for the long haul. This is an affordable way to kill mice, even though artificial sweeteners are safe for humans to consume. For mice, aspartame is toxic to the microbes in their digestive tract.

To use this to rid your home of mice, take a single packet of artificial sweetener and mix it with a dollop of peanut butter. Roll it into a ball and place it around your house. This sweet and nutty mixture will be impossible for mice to resist. 

You’ll need patience, as it takes time for aspartame to work. 

2. Instant Mashed Potato

Mashed Potatoes with Melted Butter

Adding a small water dish beside the potato flakes can help eliminate mice quickly.

Speaking of artificial sweeteners, the following method is non-toxic to poison mice for pet owners. The last thing you want is for Fido to eat a peanut butter ball containing xylitol. 

All you need for this is a bit of mashed potato powder to get the job done. As the mice snack on this mixture, their stomachs will fill and quickly become parched. 

The dry potato flakes will expand in their stomach when they drink. This can kill the mice instantly. You can combine artificial sweeteners and potato flakes to entice these rodents even more. 

3. Cement Powder

construction worker pouring cement or concrete with pump tube. Reinforced steel bars and rods

Cement powder will become solid once it mixes with the liquid in a mouse’s digestive system.

You may have to head out to your garage for this next one. To use cement mix to kill a mouse, you can combine it with food they find appealing. As stated earlier, some of their favorites are peanut butter and cocoa powder. 

We advise pet owners to skip this method, as we can’t guarantee your furry friend won’t try to eat this deadly mixture. Place the cement and food combo for those without pets in areas where mice frequent

As they consume what they believe is a tasty treat, the cement powder will harden as the digestive juices make contact. It’s safe to say no mouse will survive this! 

4. Vitamin D-3

Generic ibuprofen tablets spilling out of an open bottle on a blue background

Vitamin D can cause kidney failure in mice.

Most people need to take Vitamin D due to deficiencies, but what about mice? Well, active ingredients such as cholecalciferol poison these pesky rodents! Calcium and phosphorus levels will rise in their body after a mouse consumes Vitamin D. 

This eventually leads to a myriad of issues, including kidney failure, internal bleeding, and heart problems. One 5,000 IU tablet can take care of an entire mischief of mice. Grab your trusty peanut butter and crush a single tablet of Vitamin D-3. 

Roll into small balls and place them strategically around your home. Children, dogs, and cats can have adverse reactions to Vitamin D-3. Please avoid this method if you have pets or children.

5. Ultrasonic Devices

Four-striped grass mouse

Some ultrasonic mouse repellants are at such a high frequency that domestic animals won’t even hear them!

If you don’t want to break open a fresh box of baking soda or mess with cement powder, there is another humane way to eliminate mice. Consider using an ultrasonic device that you plug into a wall.

These devices release an extremely high frequency that humans cannot hear. Rodents of all types will quickly want to flee where the frequency is coming from. It’s essential to remember that dogs and cats may get irritated if the frequency is audible. 

Summary of Ways to Deter Mice

NumberNatural Mice Deterrent
1Baking soda and peanut butter, flour, sugar, or cocoa powder.
2Artificial sweetener
3Mashed potato flakes 
4Cement powder
5Vitamin D-3
6Ultrasonic devices


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About the Author

Kirstin is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering animals, news topics, fun places, and helpful tips. Kirstin has been writing on a variety of topics for over five years. She has her real estate license, along with an associates degree in another field. A resident of Minnesota, Kirstin treats her two cats (Spook and Finlay) like the children they are. She never misses an opportunity to explore a thrift store with a coffee in hand, especially if it’s a cold autumn day!

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