Last Updated on September, 2024
Rats in the garden is a serious problem that everyone seeks a good solution for.
But don’t worry, you’re in the right place. There are steps you can take to remove them effectively.
There is no need to go for unproven methods.
So, In this guide, I’ll break down easy and proven ways to get rid of rats from your garden without harming other wildlife or the environment. With a little effort and the right approach, you can enjoy a rat-free garden and protect your plants from unwanted visitors.
Keep reading.
Quick Summary
- Rats can be a serious problem in the garden and there are effective ways to get rid of them without harming other wildlife or the environment.
- Keeping a tidy garden and removing food and water sources are important steps in deterring rats. Natural ingredients like peppermint oil, onions, and garlic can also help repel rats.
- Traps and baits can be effective in catching and removing rats from the garden, but it’s important to be cautious and use them properly to prevent harm to other animals. Understanding rat behavior and keeping an eye out for signs can also help in controlling rat infestations.
How to Get Rid of Rats in the Garden? 5 Effective Ways
Option 1: Keep Your Garden Tidy
To avoid and control rats, it’s essential to keep things neat and tidy. Rats love hiding in cluttered spots like behind furniture, in bushes, under piles of grass and leaves, and inside sheds.
They’re particularly fond of overgrown areas, so keeping your hedges and bushes trimmed is key. A tidy garden doesn’t offer as many hiding spots, which attracts rats.
Maintaining a tidy garden involves another step, too. Firstly, make sure to destroy small holes and other access points using steel wool. Wear protective gear such as long sleeves and long pants to avoid direct contact with bare hands.
You can use plastic gloves instead, or you can go for a hardware cloth for this groundwork to protect from diseases. Additionally, rats don’t like change. They prefer sticking to familiar territory, so shake things up in your garden frequently.
Move objects around, rearrange your garden furniture, and disrupt their regular routes. This will make your garden less appealing to them and encourage them to find somewhere else to explore.
Option 2: Remove Water and Food Source
Rats and mice love to munch on fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds. If you have a garden or fruit trees, act quickly to pick your fruits and veggies as soon as they’re ready. Make sure to clean up seeds, acorns, nuts or fruits promptly to prevent rats from snacking on them.
Keeping your garden free of food sources is crucial to deter rats. Here are some steps you can take.
- Secure Compost Bin(s): make sure your compost bin has tight-fitting lids, and move it away from fences and walls where rats might sneak in. Installing chicken wire under the base of the bin is also a good move, as it prevents rats from digging under the bin to climb up inside.
- Bird Feeders: If you like feeding the birds, be cautious. Rats might be sneaking into your bird feeders for a snack. Go for squirrel-proof bird feeders and use no-mess seed mixes to avoid leaving pet food scraps that attract rats.
- Collect Fallen Fruit: don’t let fallen fruit linger on the ground. Pick it up promptly to prevent rats from feasting on your harvest.
- Eliminate standing water: remove standing water, or get rid of rats; you can use water pipes for gardening instead.
By removing these accessible food sources, you can make your garden less appealing to rats and encourage them to look elsewhere for a meal.
Option 3: Spread Natural Ingredients
Rats have super-sensitive noses, especially brown rats, so that certain strong smells can drive them away. Ingredients like peppermint oil, clover, garlic, onion, used coffee grounds, and white vinegar can make them turn up their noses and scurry off.
Just sprinkle a bit of these around your garden, and the rats will think twice about hanging around. Onions are incredibly potent. Rodents can’t stand them. You don’t even need to plant them in your garden for this trick to work.
Just put an onion where you suspect the rats are sneaking in, and they’ll catch a whiff and head in the opposite direction. Remember to replace the onion every couple of days to keep it practical and to keep it away from pets, as onions are harmful to dogs!
Alternatively, consider planting leeks and garlic around the edges of your garden beds. These plants not only repel rats but also keep other pests away.
Option 4: Use Rat Traps
Traps are a great way to catch and get rid of rats in your garden. There are different types of traps you can use:
- Live Rat Traps: these are small cages with food inside to lure the rat. They capture rats alive, which is helpful if you’re not sure what kind of rodent you’re dealing with. If it turns out to be something other than a rat, like an endangered species, you can release it back into the wild.
- Snap Traps: These rat traps are designed to kill rats quickly. They’ve been around for a long time and are very successful at catching rats, especially if you have a rat infestation.
- Electrocution Traps: These traps are effective but can be expensive. They’re boxes that give rats a high-voltage shock, killing them instantly.
Traps come in different varieties, some with poison baits and others with spring-action mechanisms to kill rats instantly. Snap traps are particularly effective and fast at getting rid of rats.
To keep other animals away from the traps, you can keep them inside a box or under a milk crate. Bait the traps with peanut butter, which rats find irresistible.
When setting traps, place them near areas where you’ve seen rat droppings or noticed their activity. This increases the chances of catching them quickly.
Option 5: Use Baits & Poisons
If traps aren’t doing the trick, you can try using baits and poisons instead to decrease the outdoor rat populations.
Many of the rat baits and poisons available today work by stopping the blood from clotting. When rats eat them, it messes up their blood, and within 4-6 days, they’ll pass away.
These baits are usually made as single-dose formulas, meaning a rodent only needs to eat once to get a deadly dose.
You can find these baits in different forms at stores selling home goods or hardware. Some are shaped like nuggets, while others come as blocks or bars. They’re often scented or flavoured to attract rats.
Why Do You Get Rats in the Garden?
Understanding why rats are drawn to your garden can help you tackle the problem effectively. Here are some reasons why rats might choose your garden as their primary spot of living.
- Where Do Rats Live? Rats need warmth, protection, food, water, and materials to build their nest. So, they seek shelter under the foundations of sheds, debris piles, greenhouses, garages, wood piles or tall weeds in the garden. They’ll also look for spots with easy access to materials like leaves, grass, sticks and household waste to build their nests.
- What Do Rats Eat?: Rats are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. They love fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds and compost pile(s) too. But they’ll munch on pretty much anything they can find. Their diet depends on what’s available in their environment.
- When Are Rats Active?: Most rats are active at night, following a nocturnal schedule. They come out of their nests after sunset to search for food, water, and other goods. This nocturnal behaviour helps them safe from natural predators lurking in the darkness.
- How Long Do Rats Live?: A rat’s lifespan varies depending on its environment. Pet rats can live up to four years, but outdoor rats usually only survive for one to two years.
Understanding these aspects of rat behaviour can help you identify and deal with rat infestations in your garden more effectively. Keep an eye out for signs of rat activity and take steps to make your garden less appealing to these unwanted guests.
Signs of Rats in the Garden
When rats make their way into your garden, they often leave behind some signs. While spotting a rat directly might not happen often as they’re sneaky, here are some signs to watch out for.
- Rat Droppings: rats leave behind lots of droppings, about 40 in a single night! These droppings look like olives and are usually found grouped together. They’re larger than mouse droppings, which can spread disease, too.
- Bite Marks: rats’ front teeth never stop growing, so they constantly gnaw things like wood, cardboard, and plastic. Look for tiny teeth marks on these items.
- Footprints: rats are always on the move, leaving behind tiny footprints in the dirt. While finding footprints doesn’t necessarily mean you have a rat infestation, consistent prints over several days might indicate a rat problem.
- RatBurrows: rats are excellent diggers, so keep an eye out for burrows in your grass and flowerbeds. These burrows might be used for shelter or food storage.
Spotting these signs in your garden could mean you have a rat problem. Keep an eye out and take action to keep your garden rodent-free.
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Conclusion
Caring for your garden means keeping it free from unwanted pests like rats. By implementing the steps discussed in this guide, you can reclaim your outdoor space and ensure a healthy environment for your plants and family.
Now, go ahead and put these eco-friendly methods into action to create a peaceful and harmonious outdoor environment for both you and your garden.
