Rats can often find their way inside a home fairly quickly, chewing through wood and looking for small openings in the walls. They will also have easy access to food and warmth inside your home if they are able to make a nest for themselves in your garden. And once this happens, rats are notoriously hard to remove.
Chemical repellents and traps have long been the go-to methods for pest control, but many homeowners are looking for safer, natural options that won’t harm them or their pets, plants, and the wider environment. But what’s less known is that certain garden plants can be just as effective at deterring rats, according to pest control experts at Critter Control.
3 garden plants to deter rats
1. Garlic
For a plant that repels pests and also works wonders in the kitchen, garlic is an excellent choice, as its delicious aroma is intolerable to rats.
Garlic can be grown easily alongside other vegetables, but you don’t need a full crop to take advantage of its rat-repelling powers.
Even placing garlic bulbs around flower beds or near common entry points can create a powerful olfactory barrier.
2. Onions
You don’t even need a garden bed to make use of onions, as, according to the experts, “rats despise the smell” of them – and even raw slices placed strategically around your garden can be enough to send them packing.
Pest control professionals suggest this simple technique can help to “drive rats far from your property,” making it an easy option for renters or those without the space to grow their own.
3. Lavender
Known more for its beauty and air-freshening abilities, lavender also doubles as a rat deterrent, as it emits a powerful aroma that rodents actively avoid.
Lavender is “one of the many scents that the nuisance rodents can’t stand,” according to the specialists. In fact, they will “stay far away” from any area where lavender is established.