Skip The Mulch
Rats love mulch, and they are a prime candidate for teeth and mouth problems. Tossing chopped up peach pits, celery stalks, and other hard veggies will help. This will help them receive the calcium they lack.
Furthermore, it will help you better their health and make them less attractive to predators.
Remember, rats will always stash away food for the future. So you have to make it irresistible for them. Storing it away in a convenient place with lots of water will make that a reality.
Cleaning up the mulch is one of the best things you can do to help them leave. This is because rats like to live in mulches and they consume them. This is why it’s important to keep the mulch up to date.
Get A Cat
Dogs are great making pets in the house, but the problem for many cat owners is finding space for them outside in the garden or yard.
However, there are quite a few breeds of dog that are well known for their love of the outdoors, and as well as being surprisingly good at hunting and killing vermin.
Some of those are Cocker Spaniels, Chow Chows, Alsatians, and Doberman Pinschers, all of which work well in all types of weather and should be easy to find a breeder for.
You will also need to consider the size of your garden when looking for dogs. Some dogs are bred for hunting in big open land, so may not handle a small space so well.
If in doubt, buy a cute puppy and see how it grows!
Plant Mint
Planting mint in your garden is one of the most effective ways to naturally get rid of rats. Just like cats, rats can’t stand the smell of menthol. Planting mint plants in your garden can even keep cats away.
If you plant the mint in an area where you don’t want cats to go, such as near a fence, make sure you plant it deep in the ground because cats will go after it if it’s above ground. The smell will naturally repel cats in the same way it repels rats and other rodents.
Planting mint in pots and placing them in your garden can also help keep rats away.
Mint is also an attractive plant to grow for its smell. It also makes your garden feel healthy and alive. Pest repellant plants are also a great benefit to any garden and are growing in popularity as more and more people are starting to look for ways to get rid of bugs naturally.
Put Up Solar-Powered Repellers
A DIY rat control method that is easy to set up is to install your own electronic rat repelling device. These small solar-powered devices emit a high frequency noise that effectively repels rats. While a pest control company can install these, they are quite easy to install on your own.
The product is available both in manual and automatic versions. In the manual model, you need to place the device in a location that will benefit from repelling rodents and then manually activate the device. The manual version of these devices will need to be changed each time the device is deactivated or if the setup breaks down.
The automatic version will work often times on its own, without any interaction from you. You will simply have to place the device in the desired location and connect it to a power source. These devices can also have solar-powered capabilities, but installation can be a bit more difficult. These devices are effective in most cases and are effective in specific locations.
This type of device is best adapted in locations that are out of reach of small kids or dogs that could be harmed. While the noise produced by these repellers is not harmful to pets or humans, the high frequency sounds can produce pain for rodents.
Create A Border Of Herbs
Many garden plantings repel rodents. Some of them are not found in all areas. Most gardeners are familiar with the bitter taste of some herbs and plants that are natural rodent deterrents.
Bitter elements are contained in herbs such as Chamomile, Lovage, and Wormwood. Another herb, Rue, makes a tiny leaf with many jagged edges.
Other herbs, such as Chamomile, Dill, Fennel, and Lavender, also are said to create a rodent barrier. One caveat to this trick is that it can take a few weeks to two months to achieve the desired result.
The second herb barrier involves planting certain plants together. For example, put Sage in the middle of a planting bed with Pomegranate and a few other plants around it.
Use a theme or plant three or more different herbs together or tall plants. By planting tall plants and blocking out available sunlight, the idea is to deter rodents from coming into the garden space beneath its canopy. Again, this may take up to a couple of months for full effect.
The third herb and plant barrier is to plant Raspberries and Blackberries around raised beds. The sharp thorns deter rodents from entering via the ground level.
Use Humane Mouse Traps
Unscented baby powder around the edges of the traps can help the mice move more easily around the trap.
Habitat Modification
It’s important to keep tall grass mowed and remove trash from around the property (kids’ toys, old appliances, etc.). This reduces the amount of shelter they can find to sit out your mousetraps. You want to keep anything that will clutter their shot at the bait from being in the way.
Clean Your Yard
Remove any old lumber lying around. It will only provide homes for mice and rats.
Pay Attention
Look around your yard and identify any possible shelter for rodents. Identify good areas for your rodent traps to be placed where rodents usually travel.
Set Traps Quickly
You want to trap as many as possible. Set your traps quickly because a mouse realizes it is trapped quickly. Place your traps near the wall for a quicker kill.
Mice will always come back to food sources so do not miss your opportunity to get rid of them when they are feeding.
Store Pet Food Securely
The smartest way to store pet food is in a sealed container that is kept in a safe, dry location. A storage room is best, if you have one. If you don’t have a storage room, keep the food in a sealed metal garbage can with a tight lid. The garage or a utility shed are also a good place for your pet’s food. As long as you don’t leave it outside, it should be fine in any conditions.
One thing to be careful about, is rats hiding in trash cans. If you choose to put the garbage can inside the garage, put the trash can next to a wall (keeping it away from the middle of the garage). Rodents love to get into trash cans along the walls.
Also, don’t allow any people (human or pet) to throw trash into the garbage can. And be sure to wash the garbage can regularly. Avoid laying the can flat on the ground if possible. Rodents are experts at climbing along the edges of walls and can easily snag their balancing claws into the edges of a garbage can lid. Looking for a good garbage can? Check out our reviews of the best trash cans.
Build A Sturdy Fence
The best way to keep out rats from your garden is to make sure they can't get in. To keep rats out of your veggie garden, plant some sturdy plants that they're not interested in eating. Rats love to snack on plants and plants that are grown along the ground. Ideal plants will be large, upright, and bushy.
Choose your fence material carefully. Heavy duty wire such as chicken wire is great because rats have little chance at chewing through it. For underground fence, Russian Olives (Brabantia) are very effective. The Russian Olive has been used for centuries to repel rodents. Although you can buy them in a store; it will be cheaper if you plant them yourself. It is easy to plant one Russian Olive as they are ideal for growing along fences or in hedges. They grow very tall and have spiky leaves that are also full of oils which is why they are a natural guard for rodents.
Make sure that they are growing well after installation. The best time to plant them is during winter.
If you don't want to plant your own, a store bought option is Fox Gard. This is a great deterrent and will also keep pesky dogs and cats away from rodents.
Sprinkle Instant Potatoes
Potatoes are high in protein, B vitamins, iron and fiber. They are also a cheap and abundant vegetable. They don’t have the strongest flavor, which makes them perfect to mix with other ingredients to create a variety of homemade rat traps.
Right now you may be thinking about your potatoes and how you are going to keep the rats out of them. All you need to do is take a few spuds and place them strategically around the vegetable patch. (You can also try shredded paper or cardboard.) If you are going to use the spuds in a snap trap, then just sprinkle them around. However if you're going to use them in a glue trap then you can cut them into small chunks. (Be careful with the knife.)
If you don’t have any potatoes you can use breakfast food such as cornflakes, shredded paper or cardboard mixed with peanut butter. The peanut butter will tempt the rats, who will take the bait with their greasy little hands, which will mean they are trapped.
Place Onions Around The Garden
Cats, foxes, mongoose, and snakes all have a good appetite for rats, but most people don't enjoy having these creatures as neighbors, and would rather have an organic solution. Luckily onions have been proven to be a good rat deterrent. The odor given off by onions is unpleasant to rats.
Place onion pieces all around the garden. Don't throw them away in the compost bin because rats can easily get into compost bins. Instead, place them on the garden floor, and the rats will stay out.