Effective and Humane Ways to Get Rid of Rats ,protect your Home and Business
1. Seal Entry Points
- Inspect your home for cracks, holes, or gaps, especially around doors, windows, pipes, and vents.
- Seal any gaps with materials like steel wool, caulk, or metal mesh. Rodents can squeeze through surprisingly small spaces.
- Replace damaged weatherstripping around doors and windows.
Water Pipe running under decking Hole in Airbrick
2. Eliminate Food Sources
- Store food properly: Keep all food, including pet food, in sealed containers.
- Clean up crumbs and spills: Regularly vacuum floors, especially in the kitchen and dining areas.
- Dispose of rubbish regularly and use waste bins with tight-fitting lids.
3. Set Traps
- Snap traps: These are effective and humane if checked frequently.
- Live traps: Catch rodents without harming them, but you’ll need to release them far from your home.
- Glue traps: These are less effective and can cause suffering, so they are not the best option.
- Bait: Use peanut butter, sunflower seeds, or pieces of fruit as bait for traps.
4. Use Rodenticides (With Caution)
- Poison baits: These can be effective but should be used carefully. Keep them away from children and pets.
- Rodenticide blocks: Available in different forms; however, these can take time to show results and require careful placement.
5. Remove Nesting Areas
- Declutter: Rodents love to nest in boxes, piles of paper, or unused areas.
- Yard maintenance: Trim back shrubs, trees, and remove any debris that may serve as shelter for rodents.
- Ivy/Wall Creepers/Foliage .Rodents use Ivy and foliage attached to a property to gain access via entry points.
6. Use Repellents
- Natural repellents: Think about planting or placing the following 3 Plants around the perimeter of your house in bedding areas or planters as a barrier to access.
Onion
This kitchen staple is “a nemesis of rats”, according to the experts. They said: “It’s a powerful rat repellent because of its pungent smell and taste. “The pros explained that onions contain sulphur compounds that irritate the eyes and nose (of rats) and allicin, which can cause anaemia and oxygen deprivation in rats if ingested.
Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums’ stunning array of colours and forms are not just eye candy but also serve as “effective rat repellents” due to their “high pyrethrin content”. This natural insecticide disrupts the nervous system of rats and other pests.The potent pyrethrin is concentrated in the flowers’ yellow centres, so opt for varieties with prominent disks. Chrysanthemums are “super easy to grow”, requiring full sun and well-drained soil. They flower from late summer to autumn and are perfect for borders, containers, or beds. Water these plants regularly for optimal health, fertilise them monthly, and prune them post-blooming.
Black pepper
Black pepper is more than a kitchen staple; it’s a “powerful rat deterrent”. The spice contains piperine, which “stimulates the pain receptors of rats and other mammals, causing them to sneeze, cough, and scurry away immediately”. This tropical vine can reach lengths of up to four meters, sporting glossy green leaves and small white flowers. These flowers give way to green berries that ripen to red, which are then dried and ground to produce black pepper. Black pepper thrives in warm, humid conditions, with a preference for partial shade and nutrient-rich, damp soil. It can be cultivated in pots, on trellises, or within greenhouses, and the berries can be picked once they’ve fully matured
By taking a proactive approach and addressing both the immediate infestation and preventing future access, you can significantly reduce the presence of rodents in your home.
When to get professional help?
You should consider calling a pro if you’ve tried some or all of the strategies listed but are still seeing signs of Rats. It can be challenging to locate access points and the reason for the infestation, but a professional will know exactly where to look and how to remove the activity in a timely and safe way.