{"id":14881,"date":"2020-09-18T18:19:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T18:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/?p=14881"},"modified":"2020-09-21T18:27:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T18:27:58","slug":"what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden."},"content":{"rendered":"

Rats in the garden is a common problem for anyone living in a house. With plenty of places to hide and rubbish bins providing a great food source, it\u2019s no surprise that these rodents are happy to make themselves at home here.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to get a potential problem with rats<\/a> seen to quickly if you suspect you have rats in the garden. With autumn just around the corner, the temperature will start dropping and food supplies will become scarce. This means that before long, these pests will start making their way into your home.<\/p>\n

Below we discuss the signs that you may have rats in your garden and what to do about it.<\/p>\n

Signs of rats in the garden
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s a good idea to spend 10-15 minutes checking your garden for signs of rats<\/a> on a regular basis. Look out for:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Rat droppings. These are distinct and resemble a large grain of rice (about 9-14mm) and are dark brown in colour. Rats can produce up to 40 droppings in just one night so you\u2019re likely to notice it in large volumes
\n\u2022\u00a0Bite marks. Rats have a strong bite and can chew through things such as plastic, wood, lead, aluminium and even cement. If you notice bite marks around bins, in hoses, furniture, sheds or anywhere else around the garden, it\u2019s likely to be rats
\n\u2022\u00a0Nests. You\u2019re likely to find rat nests in areas that are dry and hidden from predators so you may need to search a bit harder for this one. They\u2019re attracted to clutter and easy food sources so these are the high risk areas of your garden
\n\u2022\u00a0Footprints. Rats are very active so it\u2019s inevitable they\u2019re going to leave footprints. A good way to test this is to sprinkle flour or anything with a similar texture and wait to see if there are any fresh prints
\n\u2022\u00a0Burrows. Rats are more likely to dig burrows in proximity to compost bins, sheds, the garage and under shelters and decking
\n\u2022\u00a0Increased pet activity. Cats and dogs have a much stronger sense of smell and hearing than we do so they may pick up on rats before you. If your pet is putting its nose inside crevices for longer and more often than usual or they\u2019re suddenly constantly on the hunt for something, it could be rats
\n\u2022\u00a0You can smell ammonia. If you have a very large rat infestation in your garden, you will probably be able to smell it<\/p>\n

What to do if you have rats in the garden<\/strong>
\nThere are a number of ways you can encourage rats to move on and prevent them coming back in future.<\/p>\n

Remove potential food sources<\/strong>
\nPests are drawn to easy food sources so make it as difficult as possible for them to get food from your garden.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Ensure bin bags are securely fastened and are kept preferably in a metal bin
\n\u2022\u00a0Don\u2019t feed your pet outside. If you do, ensure it\u2019s cleared away as soon as they\u2019ve finished
\n\u2022\u00a0If you eat outside, clean away any debris immediately and wipe down source
\n\u2022\u00a0Don\u2019t leave food out for birds or squirrels
\n\u2022\u00a0Remove fallen fruits from the ground
\n\u2022\u00a0If possible, remove any water sources<\/p>\n

Keep your garden clean<\/strong>
\nRats like to keep hidden so any clutter will provide shelter for them.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Trim bushes, cut the grass and remove weeds regularly
\n\u2022\u00a0Rake leaves regularly and don\u2019t leave them in a pile on the ground
\n\u2022\u00a0Inspect children\u2019s toys regularly
\n\u2022\u00a0Keep your shed clean because rats can easily gnaw their way inside
\n\u2022\u00a0If you keep garden furniture covered, check it regularly<\/p>\n

Get planting<\/strong>
\nThere are a number of plants that deter rats so try to incorporate a couple of these into your garden design.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Lavender
\n\u2022\u00a0Daffodils
\n\u2022\u00a0Marigolds
\n\u2022\u00a0Garlic
\n\u2022\u00a0Black pepper
\n\u2022\u00a0Cayenne
\n\u2022\u00a0Sage
\n\u2022\u00a0Oregano<\/p>\n

Call a local pest controller<\/strong>
\nIf you suspect you have a rat infestation<\/a> in your garden, you should always call a local pest controller. They will be able to diagnose the problem and how severe it is, safely remove any unwanted pests and show you how to prevent them coming back.<\/p>\n

If you need help with a rat infestation, please get in touch with Prokill<\/a> and our experts will be on hand to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rats in the garden is a common problem for anyone living in a house. With plenty of places to hide and rubbish bins providing a great food source, it\u2019s no surprise that these rodents are happy to make themselves at home here. It\u2019s important to get a potential problem with rats seen to quickly if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":1322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[230,126,125],"class_list":["post-14881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-rat","tag-rats","tag-rodents"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden. - Prokill UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden. - Prokill UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rats in the garden is a common problem for anyone living in a house. With plenty of places to hide and rubbish bins providing a great food source, it\u2019s no surprise that these rodents are happy to make themselves at home here. It\u2019s important to get a potential problem with rats seen to quickly if […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prokill UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-18T18:19:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-21T18:27:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635-1024x815.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"815\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate King\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate King\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/\",\"name\":\"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden. - Prokill UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-18T18:19:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-21T18:27:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e1eb424584468803cf55d54b994f8a24\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635.jpg\",\"width\":3257,\"height\":2592,\"caption\":\"Rat\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Prokill UK\",\"description\":\"Your fully accredited local Pest Control company\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e1eb424584468803cf55d54b994f8a24\",\"name\":\"Kate King\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88e423ae7462c9b4f440c9cf5dbb2ca0d0827e479c587ccd28f048a075426039?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88e423ae7462c9b4f440c9cf5dbb2ca0d0827e479c587ccd28f048a075426039?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kate King\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/author\/kate\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden. - Prokill UK","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden. - Prokill UK","og_description":"Rats in the garden is a common problem for anyone living in a house. With plenty of places to hide and rubbish bins providing a great food source, it\u2019s no surprise that these rodents are happy to make themselves at home here. It\u2019s important to get a potential problem with rats seen to quickly if […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/","og_site_name":"Prokill UK","article_published_time":"2020-09-18T18:19:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-21T18:27:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":815,"url":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635-1024x815.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kate King","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate King","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/","url":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/","name":"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden. - Prokill UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-18T18:19:46+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-21T18:27:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e1eb424584468803cf55d54b994f8a24"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/ThinkstockPhotos-494437635.jpg","width":3257,"height":2592,"caption":"Rat"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-about-rats-in-your-garden\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What to do if you\u2019re worried about rats in your garden."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"Prokill UK","description":"Your fully accredited local Pest Control company","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e1eb424584468803cf55d54b994f8a24","name":"Kate King","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88e423ae7462c9b4f440c9cf5dbb2ca0d0827e479c587ccd28f048a075426039?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88e423ae7462c9b4f440c9cf5dbb2ca0d0827e479c587ccd28f048a075426039?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kate King"},"url":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/author\/kate\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14882,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14881\/revisions\/14882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}