Have you noticed you’ve got rats living in your house or garden? While you might want to get rid of them, you can do it without causing them harm.
Rats and mice can be inconvenient visitors but they don’t have to die if they invade your space so the RSPCA has shared some ways you can get rid of them humanely.
The charity explains on its website: “Rats and mice commonly live in gardens and parks in the UK as they’ll have easy access to food sources, such as food put down for other animals.
“They can be attracted to spilt wild bird food, scattered by birds from feeders or tables. Compost heaps can also be a major attraction as they offer food, shelter and warmth.
“Other attractions can be improperly stored rubbish bags, cat, dog or other pet food (particularly outside pets like rabbits or guinea pigs) and food left out for wildlife such as hedgehogs.”
You can find out more about rats and mice via the RSPCA website.
How to get rid of rats humanely
The RSPCA advises that you reduce or remove any food sources that are accessible to the rodents and you should make sure that any food containers or bins are airtight and rodent-proof.
If you feed wildlife in your garden, you’ll need to make sure you clean up any food and sometimes, it could be a good idea to stop leaving food out for a little while.
You can also keep rodents at bay by planting wood hyacinth, allium and daffodils in your garden – these act as repellents.
If you have grass, shrubs and other greenery near your house, you’ll need to keep it short and tidy so that rats don’t take up residence and use it as shelter. Once you know rodents have gone, you can grow them out again to help give other wildlife some cover.
Simple ways to create a wildlife-friendly garden
Make sure you declutter your garden and keep storage areas tidy so rodents have fewer places to hide.
The RSPCA explains that rats and mice are scared of new things or changes (known as neophobia) so moving around your garden furniture and other objects could mean they become confused and alarmed as they’re used to static habitats.
How to get rid of rats humanely in your home
Rats and mice can live off crumbs so it’s important to make sure you regularly clean overlooked areas in your home where there might be some crumbs lying around.
Seal all your food containers, particularly those that have cereal, bread, pasta and dried pet food in them. Food containers should also be made of rodent-proof materials and stored away in cupboards or on shelves that rodents will struggle to get to.
How to get rid of these common garden pests
Overnight, you should put your pet’s food bowls away.
If the rodents have entered your home via a hole or gap, you can block them up to stop more from getting in.
The RSPCA advises using “either a strong, quick-hardening sealant or ‘mouse mesh’; a kind of wire wool.”
It explains that materials such as caulk, rubber and plastic fillers aren't effective because rodents can chew through them.
Recommended reading:
- How to prevent rats and mice getting into your home
- Garden experts share 7 tips for keeping rats out of your garden
- Homeowners can use this £1.79 hack to keep rats away from fences and gardens
Keep an eye on other entry points including doors that have a gap underneath them.
You can also use some oils to deter them. You’ll need to soak some cotton wool balls in peppermint, eucalyptus or spearmint oil.
Rodents avoid these smells so put the cotton wool balls under cupboards and along work surfaces or beams as well as in the corners of your loft, basement or shed. If you can think of any other places where they might be getting in, try putting some there too.
The oil will need to be replaced regularly even when you think the rodents might have gone as they could return.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel