The last thing you want is rats eating the plants you grow with so much hard work and love in your garden. But, garden rodents are a more common scenario than you can imagine.
And this group of mice, gophers, and rats don’t plan to stay in your garden only. Their ultimate aim is to enter your home after colonizing your garden. Therefore, keeping rodents out of the garden becomes vital for every gardener and homeowner.
When you find some common signs of rats in the garden, you should call a professional expert in residential rodent control. They must be licensed and authorized to operate in your region. They install baits at the suspected locations and monitor and replenish these baits periodically.
Walk around the area and discuss the possible locations of rodents in the yard and garden, along with the treatment plan with your professionals. It helps a lot!
This post tells you 9 smart tips on keeping rodents out of the garden. But before understanding that, you need to know the signs of rats in the garden. Let’s do a deep dive into the subject!
6 Sings of Rats in Garden
Watch out for these 6 indications of rodents or rats in your yard or garden.
1. Sitting in the Gardens
Now, this is the most obvious sign that you have garden rodents. These notorious creatures can’t be discreet for long. They often come on the top of fences and trees, mostly at dawn and dusk.
2. Plants Disappearing Partially or Completely
Do you find your plants in a distorted state, partially or entirely disappearing? The garden mouse eats the plant from below, unlike deer and rabbits, which eat the plants from above. You may find the roots of your new planting and seedling pulled out from below.
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3. Visible Biting Marks
Garden rats bite and chew on anything and everything around them, hoping for food and out of habit. You may have unwanted guests in your garden or backyard if you see gnaw marks on packaging, foodstuff, concrete, wood, etc.
4. Underground Tunnel
Another prominent sign of rats and rodents in the garden is the entry and exit of underground tunnels marked by mounds. Rodents destroy all the plants and sprouts which come in the way of their tunnel.
5. Visible Rodent Tracks
Rats tend to mark their track around the hedges, steps, plants, fencing, and walls as they always use the same tracks. Look for such marks of tracks and runs around if you suspect rats in your backyard.
6. Rodent Droppings
Rodent droppings look like a black grain of rice. It turns grey as it dries. You will find these droppings near their feeding and nesting place. Fresh droppings are a clearer indication of garden rodents.
How to Keep Pests Such as Rodents & Rats Out of Garden?
Once you recognize the presence of garden rodents, follow these 11 proven tips to keep rats away from the garden. These tips are helpful to curb the infestation till the time you get hold of a trusted professional.
1. Keep the Garden Clean
Cleanliness will repel rodents like mice from the garden as they don’t get food there. Plus, they don’t get a place to hide. It means you must also skip the mulch until your garden is rodent-free.
2. Keep Your Garden Surroundings Clean
Improving sanitation also helps to create an environment that is not rodent-friendly. Keep the recycling bins clean, that is near to your garden. Also, ensure there is no leftover food lying down around your garden.
3. Remove All Food & Water Sources
Keep your pet food in a sealed container. Repair the dripping taps and don’t fill the bird feeders for some days. Your culprits will move on to another destination if they don’t find any source of food and water in your garden. You can also put mesh tubes around the seedlings so the rodents can’t feed on them.
4. Grow Plants That Repel Rodents
Grow peppermint, marigold, spearmint, and other plants that repel common bugs and rodents in your garden to keep them at bay. You can also grow garlic and onion in the surrounding of your garden.
5. Install Solar-powered Repellers
Solar-powered repellers use sound and vibration to scare and keep the rodents out of your garden. And the sound frequencies are designed for rodents only, so you or your kids won’t be disturbed by them.
6. Deploy Mouse Traps
You can use the traditional mouse traps. Or else various modern versions of the mouse trap are available on the market. Buy those which make cleaning easier for you.
7. Build a Robust Fence
To make your garden rodent-proof, your fence needs to be stronger. To destroy rat burrows in your garden, dig a trench and build your wall from that depth.
8. Get Rid of Lawn Grubs
Lawn grubs serve as food to rodents like mice and rats. Use treatments like milky spore to kill the grubs. Also, take steps to reduce the population of Japanese beetles.
9. Seal the Tiniest of Holes
The mice and rats can build an entrance with the tiniest holes, so seal all the holes, no matter how small they are. All these holes can potentially become a rat’s nest in your garden.
Signing Off!
Don’t let your countless hours of diligent care for your garden get destroyed by rodents. Be alert about any sign of rats in the garden and take timely action.
This way, you can keep your garden green and flourish in all seasons. Also, use the proven tips in this article on keeping rats away and enjoy your passion for gardening without any worry.
Author’s Bio
When people find their homes and offices infested with pests, it is not uncommon for them to panic. Raymond Web has taken the task to educate people on pest prevention and control strategies, helping them keep their surroundings healthy, safe, and pest-free. Being the digital marketing manager for taking Care Termite and Pest Control, a top-rated pest control service in Tracy, CA, he has an in-depth understanding of people and their pain points due to pests, which he uses in his content to educate people.
