How to Keep Rats out of my Garden

We know a lot of people love Ratatouille, a smart and adorable furry little animal. However, in real life nobody wants a rat prancing around their vicinity. The dirt, stink, and sicknesses they bring are enough for any sane human to abhor their existence. Rats eat about anything and they are especially drawn to your gardens where food and moisture is abundant. So how do you keep them away?

Ø Clean your garden
One of the most obvious things to do is to arrange your garden in a way that it does not create too many small, damp spaces that rats can live into or pass through. If you have pets, make sure there are no leftovers in their meal as rats are also heavily attracted to pet food.

Ø Have a Dog or a Cat (or Both)
A lot of us grow up with Tom and Jerry and have pretty much an idea as to how the relationship works. Cats, specially trained cats, are very fierce rat hunters. Contrary to what Tom and Jerry is trying to portray though, cats do not primarily catch rats for food; they play with it. So if you are planning to take this measure, be sure you are prepared for some gruesome sights. In Tom and Jerry, the dog and the rat/mice are friends, but in reality they have the same attitude as the cats when it comes to rats.

Ø Trap the Vermin’s
This type of human effort is one of the most effective throughout the years. There are many ways to trap rats.

1. The sticky paper. It is a rat and mouse trappers found usually in grocery stores and are best for catching the small vermin. You just have to place it in their route and or immediately in front of the hole they come through. Only make sure that you buy the really sticky ones.
2. Rat poison. It is one of the most common but I have to say, impractical way of keeping rats away from anywhere. For one, after they consume the poison they still have time to hide somewhere and die therefore leaving the owner of the property frantically seeking for the smelly carcass.
3. Others. It includes traditional mouse trappers and modern snappers.

*Tip: When trapping rats, make sure you know what kind of rat it is. Is it big or small, vegetarian or omnivore and things like that.

Ø Grow rat repelling plants
According to some studies, rats hate the smell of mints and other plants belonging to the same family. So to keep your garden rat-free and smelling good, planting mints will help. Also, basing on personal experience, mint can help prevent mosquitos.

Whatever method you employ in keeping rats away from your garden, just make sure you thought it through. It is never a waste to prevent accidents. #