Best Pest Control Remedy for Rat Problem in the Garden
A rat burrow can be anywhere from one to six feet deep and will have an entrance,Best Pest Control Remedy for Rat Problem in the Garden Articles an exit, and maybe even an escape hole. A typical burrow will house a family of approximately eight rats. By counting the burrow holes gardeners can estimate the number of rats living in their garden.
If you live near water, or have garden compost, chances are you have experienced the presence of a rat or two. Keep composts away from your house. A far corner of the yard should help keep rats away from your house.
Gardeners are usually left up to their own devices when it comes to pest control. Some people want to maintain a pesticide-free environment; others are desperate to get a bad situation under control and will try any remedy.
Rats will eat the vegetables and fruits in a garden, but if that is truly their only food source, they will eventually move on to a site that meets their animal protein and fat needs. A compost pile with only garden scraps will not sustain a rat colony. But if table scraps including meats, grains, oils, or other fats are added into the compost pile, it will become highly attractive to them. And the warmth generated by decomposing waste creates a hospitable Pest control rat environment in cold weather. Compost areas must be monitored carefully, and if possible, kept in hard plastic or metal containers with tight-fitting lids.
Bags of trash placed near a garden offer an all-you-can-eat buffet to a colony of rats. Like compost, trash should be kept only in sturdy cans with tight-fitting lids. Gardeners should always clean up after picnics and make sure food waste is removed at night.
Food intended for pigeons, cats, dogs, chickens, or rabbits placed in or near a garden may also end up feeding rats. Animal waste such as dog feces can also provide nourishment. Some gardeners feed feral cats in the belief that they will scare away rats. The reality is that most cats are quickly overwhelmed. A healthy breeding female rat can have litters of up to 12 pups several times a year, while the average cat may only take down a rat once every couple of days. In areas where lots of rats are present, it’s best to avoid feeding other animals.
For shelter, rats seek out areas where they feel protected from predators. Dense plantings, tall weeds, and piles of lumber, rocks, or other kinds of clutter provide safe harbor to a rat. Ivy and bushes close to the ground and around buildings are particularly attractive. Rats have very poor eyesight and use their whiskers (or vibrissae) to navigate their environment; as a result, they prefer to travel along straight lines and use curbs, walls, and foundations to get around. Gardeners battling a rat infestation can cut back vegetation at least 18 inches from building walls, remove ivy or other vines from sides of buildings and nearby trees, and trim back tree branches that touch or rub against buildings. Deprived of cover, rats will be less confident traversing these exposed zones and may move on to safer places.
A gardener can figure out where rats are traveling by looking along straight lines for the greasy rub marks that rats leave behind. These rub or smudge marks contain pheromones from the rat’s skin and fur that they use to communicate with other rats. Washing the rub marks away with vinegar or biodegradable soap can help interrupt their established pathways to food sources and home. Hardware cloth (half-inch mesh) can be installed along the base of walls or fences to deter burrowing. The cloth should extend 8 to 12 inches underground. Even though rats can burrow deeper than this, many rats are deterred from spending so much energy to create a nest.