Rats can be a nuisance to homeowners, but they’re also one of the most challenging pests to get rid of. These rodents have a tendency to hide in tight spaces and come out at night when you’re not looking for them.
That’s why it’s so important to use the right method and stick with it until your rats are gone for good.
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| Using poison to kill rats can be harmful to humans, pets, and wildlife. |
| There are several effective and humane ways to get rid of rats in your car and prevent them from coming back. |
| Maintaining a clean and clutter-free environment can deter rats from entering your car or home. |
| Peppermint oil, vinegar, onions, garlic, and cat urine are natural remedies for keeping rats away. |
| If in doubt, seek professional assistance to handle rat infestations, especially when dealing with hazardous situations. |
Eliminate Entry Points
To stop your rats from coming into your home in the first place, you need to check for entry points. If you have a rat problem, chances are they’re getting in through one of these sources:
Remove all food sources that are outside of the house—especially trash. Rats love to eat anything and everything and will do so constantly if possible. If you have any trash cans or pet food outside, take care of it right away!
Clear clutter around windows and doors—especially where wires or pipes enter into the building (if they aren’t wallpapered over). Rats crawl through small spaces as big as 3/8 inch wide while looking for food, water, warmth and shelter from predators
Rats can cause extensive damage to your car, from gnawing on the electrical wiring to nesting inside the engine. Preventing this invasion is crucial, and our article on proven prevention methods can guide you through the process with ease.
Use A Snap Trap
If you want to get rid of rats and not poison, then a snap trap is a great option. Snap traps are also an effective way to catch mice, so if you have an infestation in your home or garage, this is the best way to deal with it all at once.
The best thing about snap traps is that they’re reusable! What’s more, they’re easy to set up and can be used anywhere in the house even inside where there aren’t any holes or gaps through which rodents might be able to enter.
You just have to make sure that whatever bait you use will lure rats out of hiding before they get caught by the trap itself (you don’t want them dying somewhere inaccessible).
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Cheap and easy to find | Can injure or kill non-target animals |
| Traps rats instantly | Requires manual removal of dead rats |
| Safe to use around children and pets | Must be set correctly for effectiveness |
| Does not use poison, making it safer for the environment |
Bait The Snap Trap With Peanut Butter
If you’re trying to catch rats with a snap trap, peanut butter is a great bait. The rats will be attracted by the smell and will take the bait without thinking about it too much.
You can use any kind of peanut butter as long as it’s not expired or has an overpowering odor like garlic or onions.
If your peanut butter has been sitting in your fridge for weeks and smells musty, don’t put it on the trap—that way you won’t attract mice either!
Rats are notorious for their gnawing habits, and car wires are no exception. Once they get inside your car, the damage can be overwhelming. To halt rats from chewing on your car wires, follow our expert advice on how to stop them and put an end to this problem for good.
Set Out Glue Traps
Glue traps are humane and effective, and they’re a great option if you have children or pets in your home. Unlike snap traps, which can be dangerous for humans to step on if they don’t know what’s inside them (and may not even be strong enough to kill a rat), glue traps only work when the surface is actually touched by the rodent.
Glue traps should be placed where there are signs of rodent activity around food sources, in corners of rooms and along walls but not where pets or children can accidentally access them.
You’ll want to put out several traps at once so that once a rat comes in contact with one trap it won’t just move around until it finds another one nearby.
After catching an animal on a glue trap, carefully remove it from the area so that other animals won’t have access to it later on; then use either burlap sacks or garbage bags filled with dry ice (which will kill any bugs within) as coverings while transporting trapped rats offsite by car or truck.
Get A Cat
You can also get a cat. Cat owners often report that their cats are great at hunting and killing rats, keeping the rodent population down.
Cats are natural predators of rodents. Their hunting instincts have been bred into them by humans for hundreds of years, so it makes sense that they’d be good at hunting any rodents they came across.
However, you should be careful if you decide to get a cat just because you want to keep your home free from unwanted pests—some people may not like having their homes filled with stray cats!
Plus, there’s always the chance that someone will mistake your new pet for an intruder and try to kill it with poison or traps instead of asking what it’s doing in their house (don’t worry—cats usually aren’t too hard to identify).
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Natural rat hunters | Can cause damage to furniture, carpets, and other household items |
| Affordable | May not be effective against large rat populations |
| Requires minimal effort | Can pose health risks to humans |
| Offers companionship | May not be suitable for households with allergies or young children |
| Eco-friendly solution | Requires proper care and feeding |
Make Homemade Rat Poison
In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the poison. You’ll need 1 cup of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of oats, 1 cup of sugar or brown sugar and 4 tablespoons of baking soda.
Place one end of an empty paper towel roll on top so that it sticks up about 2 inches above the bottom. Pour the mixture into this tube (it should be about 3/4 full).
To make sure your rat bait is safe for your pets and children, be sure to store it away from them in a place they can’t reach.
Rats like to come out at night so you will want to put some traps out during this time as well—you may also want to set up some rodenticide stations around your home as well as baiting them with this homemade solution
The attic is one of the common places where rats like to breed and hide themselves. If you’re experiencing rat activity in your attic and want to get rid of them, our comprehensive guide on how to get rid of rats in the attic will give you valuable insights on keeping this area rat-free
Buy A Live-Catch Rat Trap
The last option for getting rid of rats is the live-catch rat trap. This trap will catch and kill the rats, so it’s a great option if you don’t want to use poison or snap traps. You’ll need to place this trap in an area where you know there are plenty of rats—and ideally, find their nests as well.
The best place to put this trap is against a wall or other vertical surface where you see tracks or droppings from mice, squirrels or other small rodents that may accidentally get caught in these traps.
You will also want to make sure that it’s accessible enough so that when it does catch something (like a mouse), you can remove it quickly and easily without much fussing around with moving furniture around.
To bait your live-catch rat trap, spread peanut butter along the bottom surface of both sides of a piece of cardboard approximately 1 inch thick by 3 inches wide and cut into four equal pieces (each piece should be about 1 inch wide).
Use An Ultra-Sonic Pest Repeller
Ultrasonic pest repellers are not lethal and they’re also humane. The devices don’t kill rats, but emit high-frequency sounds that are audible only to rodents.
You can use them in any room and even outdoors. These gadgets can be used in the basement, garage or attic of your home as well as around your garden shed or storage unit. They won’t hurt kids or pets either, which is great news for families with children!
They’re easy to set up and use—just plug them into an electrical outlet and you’re set!
Rats’ chewing habits can cause massive damage to your car wires, leading to unexpected repair expenses. Discover how you can put an end to this problem with our article on how to prevent rats from eating car wires and keep your car safe from destructive critters
Try An Electronic Rat Repeller
An electronic rat repeller emits a high-frequency sound that rats and mice find unpleasant. These devices are often battery-powered, but some plug into an outlet.
They can be placed anywhere: under kitchen cabinets or behind appliances, inside cabinets and drawers (with the doors left slightly open), along baseboards or in corners, or in any place where there is activity around your home especially if you’ve noticed holes in your walls, floors and ceilings since you first discovered that your house is infested with rodents.
You should choose a device with several different settings so that it can adapt to changing circumstances.
For example, if the weather gets colder outside (or if it gets warmer indoors) rodents will tend to move closer to homes for warmth;
this means that they’ll probably be closer than usual during winter months when temperatures drop below freezing at night time hours so make sure you select something capable of emitting sounds loud enough for them not only hear from far away but also cause them discomfort without disturbing humans nearby who may have hypersensitive hearing due to age or illness conditions such as tinnitus (ringing ears).
Fill Holes And Crevices With Metal Wool Or Copper Wire Mesh
There are a number of safe and effective ways to seal your home, including filling holes and crevices with metal wool or copper wire mesh.
If you have many holes to fill, this method can become time consuming, so it may be worth investing in some plastic sheeting—we recommend the blue plastic sheeting used for insulation.
Simply cut out a piece that covers all the areas where rats could enter your house or garden shed and secure it using duct tape (the stuff they use on TV shows is actually pretty expensive).
Keep in mind that this method can be more effective if you also block off any vents or pipes leading into these areas; otherwise, rodents may still find their way into your home by climbing up through them!
Install An Above-Ground Electric Fence Around Your Home’s Perimeter
An electric fence is a barrier used to keep wildlife out of an area. It works by delivering a mild shock to animals that touch the fence, which usually deters them from entering.
Electric fences are installed around the perimeter of your property and can be constructed from many materials, including wood and plastic.
They’re relatively inexpensive compared to other methods of rodent control, but they do require some maintenance in order to remain effective.
If rats are targeting your vehicle, ignoring them is not an option. Our expert guide on deterrence methods offers valuable tips and tricks to keep rats away from your car, protecting it from costly repairs and ensuring its longevity
Decide On The Best Method For You, Then Stick To It!
Using the same method consistently will help keep your home safe from rats. If you use multiple methods at once, they will work together to make sure that no rat can come through your defenses.
Additionally, keeping your home clean will discourage rats from returning or even entering in the first place. Finally, don’t give up! You’ve got this!
Conclusion
Once you have a plan in place and you know what type of rat control method to use, it’s time to get the job done!
Don’t forget that prevention is always better than cure, so keeping your home clean and free from food sources for rats will help keep them out.
Further Reading
How to Keep Rats Away from Home Without Poison or Traps: Learn how to keep your yard and home rat-free without harming them with poison or traps.
How to Get Rid of Rats in Your Home: Discover useful tips and tricks for getting rid of rats in your home, from natural remedies to professional treatment.
Get Rid of Rats Without Poison: Find out how to eliminate rats from your home without using toxic bait or poisons.
FAQs
What are the signs of a rat infestation?
Some common signs of a rat infestation are gnaw marks on surfaces, droppings, scratching noises, greasy marks along walls, and the presence of nests or burrows.
What are the dangers of rats in the home?
Rats can pose significant health risks, as they may be carriers of diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Additionally, their gnawing habits can cause extensive damage to property and lead to potential fire hazards.
How can I prevent rats from entering my home?
To prevent rats from entering your home, ensure that all entry points are sealed, keep food stored in airtight containers, and eliminate sources of water. Additionally, remove clutter and debris from the yard and keep it well-maintained.
What are some natural remedies for getting rid of rats?
Some natural remedies for getting rid of rats include using peppermint oil, garlic, onions, and vinegar. Rats are also deterred by the smell of cat urine or ammonia.
When should I call a professional to handle a rat infestation?
It is recommended to call a professional if a rat infestation is severe, and the DIY methods have not been effective, or if there is a risk of exposing yourself or others to harm, such as electrocution or diseases transmitted by rats.
Hello! I’m Hellen James, and I write about how to keep pests from invading your home. For the last 10 years, I’ve been working in pest control and am excited to share my expertise with you!
