Winning the war on rats
The presence of rats can be very disturbing especially when they are in great numbers. Rats carry diseases and once they gain access to your home can cause much damage.
I believe if not all most of us have had distasteful experiences with these rodents. Rats will bite holes in your door or wait for the perfect opportunity to slip through and once they have gained access will eat holes in your clothing, consume your food products especially if they are not secured.
Foods which are stored in plastic and paper products, foods that are wrapped in foil, boxes which contain foods, and so on, and what makes matters worse is they will have babies not only in your yard and garden areas but also your home filling it with their feces or droppings which has such a terrible sicking odor that is not good for our health.
Many of them will even seek to construct a nesting site under the hood of vehicles especially if the vehicle is inoperable and will cause further damage by chewing the wires which can really cause much expense. The good news, however, is there are so many ways to keep these rodents at bay ensuring that we have an environment that is rat-free.
Keep rats out of your yard
Below we will be looking at measures to implement to keep rats out of our yards.
One of the first steps in discouraging rats from our yard is sanitation and exclusion, when we see wildlife in our yards and around our homes they are looking basically for 3 things food, water, and shelter so taking away these 3 will keep them at bay.
Garden Plants
Sure we all want our yards to look attractive, neat, and clean with garden plants that are so inviting which can increase our property value. But if we allow our plants to grow out of control especially if they cover the ground will be a good hiding place for rats.
Once a rat has gained access to our yard one of the first things they will look for is a good hiding place so they can feel secure from danger. Give your garden plants the proper spacing and keep them nicely trimmed.
Don’t allow your plants to develop low hanging branches at the ground level, remove all low growing branches, in doing so will take away their hiding place from predators such as dogs, cats, etc… the removal of these low hanging branches will also remove their shelter from the sun and the rain. Allowing your garden to be open and not cluttered will help.
Your Lawn Area
A manicured lawn is so pleasing to the eyes, I have seen lawns that were almost picture-perfect. Lawns which were healthy growing with such nice deep green and neatly trimmed, I take great care of my lawn whenever I give it a good cut my yard looks so different so as much as I can I am in the yard seeking to keep my lawn well-manicured.
Garden lawns should be kept at the proper height because if it is not kept at the height that it should be can cause issues such as encouraging disease and insects along with attracting rats. If your lawn is high then rats will feel like this is a great spot to venture into so keeping your lawn nicely trimmed will not only discourage them but will take care of other issues also so get to know the proper height of your garden lawn and keep it that way.
Containing your garbage
This is another one that plays a big role to discourage rats from our yards. Moving about the country I have seen residents where either there was no proper garbage storage area or the area had garbage storage but was poorly kept.
Properly maintaining your garbage will keep away not only rats but the neighbor’s dogs as well, if you haven’t as yet considered installing a proper garbage storage area. The garbage containers should have lids that can be placed over the garbage to secure the garbage.
Keeping your yard clutter-free
Keeping your yard clutter-free is a great way to keep rats at bay, woodpiles should be stored off the ground, debris should be stored in garbage containers. If there is a lot of things to store instead of leaving them around your yard or the patio area why not consider building a shed and using this as a storage area. Remember the goal is to keep your yard clutter-free.
Traps And Baits
The use of traps and baits will benefit greatly but if children and pets are involved then it is better to hold off on the bait and traps which brings me to my next point.
Getting A Cat
Getting a cat can also help, I remembered the neighbor’s cat who loved to venture into my yard because of the rat problem which I had. When the cat was not around those rats would be having a party but when the cat showed up there would be no sign of rats so consider getting a cat or two which will double the pleasure of riding your yard of rats.
Repairs
Inspect your home and building structures, if there is any cracks or holes in the wall repair them as soon as they are discovered, if there are any small openings where pipes enter your home seal these holes remove tree branches that are growing near your windows because rats can use these branches as bridges to enter your home.
Edible Gardens
Constructing an edible garden can be very beneficial providing both you and your family with foods while saving on that food bill, inspect your edible garden to ensure there are no fallen fruits or veggies if there is any then remove them as soon as possible remember the goal is to take away or cut off what wildlife is looking for food, water, and shelter.
A water source
All wildlife needs water in order to survive, if there are any leaking pipes on your property whether in or outdoors repair them. Ensure there is no container laying around the yard that collects water because this will not only attract rats but mosquitoes as well.
If there are holes in your yard that collect water see to it that these holes are filled with soil and leveled. Some garden plants are known to hold water in their center cup either keep an eye on these plants doing heavy rain downpours to remove the water or consider removing those plants.
Signs of rats in your yard
Here are a few signs to look for when considering if rats are in your yard.
1. Look for continuous rat droppings.
2. Look for bite marks on packages.
3. You may smell a foul odor.
4. Scratching noises.
5. Footprints.
6. You will notice gawn or bite marks.
7. Rat holes
8. Rub marks
9. Rat nest.
10. Runways are the path which rats take, they will travel the same route back and forth.
11 You may see a rat or two venturing into the open.
12. Urine puddles which have a sharp odor.
The final word
Rats can be a real menace, these rodents are known worldwide and have been known to spread disease-causing much damage to properties but the good news is we can win the war on rats by putting these measures in place causing us to have a rat-free zone which I think is so amazing.
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
Very good and thorough article. Rats are pain and to get rid of them requires a lot of effort. Not to mention the good state of your house and garden to prevent them from coming in in the first place. As for the cat, if the rat is big, the cat alone will not chase them in my experience. You will need two or more cats for that. But just a cat around can be a ‘go away’ factor for rats.
Thank you for the article, good job
Getting a cat and setting of traps are definitely the best approach towards keeping rats out of the yards. OMG! When I adopted Shelly, my cat, within the first week of her taking over the control of my yard, I noticed she killed up to 7rats alone. She was very effective in killing them and a lot of them fell to my traps too. These two are Definitely awesome at keeping rays off the garden and I would suggest to anyone too. The others that you have shared too should be cool to checkout. Thanks
You are welcome and it is so good to hear that you took care of your rat problems with Shelly. All the best to you and have a good day.
Hi Norman
I really appreciate this post. You really took the time to think of what really attracts the rats in our yards. And from your post, I will keep two major tips, which are, keep your yard clean and get a cat. I usually just go for the cat to make it more effective. But I think you are right to emphasis on how clean and clutter-free should our yard look. Because without that even with a cat, the rats can still come back, because the cat can’t be everywhere.
Thanks for sharing
Having your yard clean along with implementing these methods will go a long way in helping you to have a rat-free zone.
Rats have been a really bad home companion to me over the years and I would do almost anything to get them out of my house. The situation was really bad that sometime around January they ate some of my vital work file which I brought to the house, to be honest I almost cried. However, looking at these tips you have given to help keep them away from ones house, I’ll make sure I follow all of it. Nice coming across this post.
So sorry to hear that, rats can be a menace but putting these methods will help a lot. All the best to you.
You have provided a lot of usefull advice on how to keep the rats away. All connected to housing cooperatives, those with apartment near the ground as well as house owners should be aware of this article. It’s so easy to do so if you only put a little effort in to it and have some standards in and around your home. Very informative and helpful.
We can DIY our yards and homes with the proper knowledge which can save us a few bucks. So happy to help and all the best to you.