How to Get Rid of Rats? Natural, Herbal, and Chemical Treatment

Introduction  

Rats are various types of long-tailed rodents of the order Rodentia. But typical rats are found in the genus Rattus whereas other genera include Neotoma (pack rats), Bandicota (bandicoot rats), and Dipodomys (kangaroo rats). Black Rat and Brown Rat are the best-known species.

Roof Rat or Ship Rat or Black Rat (Rattus rattus)

• 16 to 24 cm in length and with a tail longer than head and body.
• Weighs between 150-200 gm
• A slender body, pointed nose, and large ears.
• 5-10 young per litter with 3-6 litters in a year.
• The gestation period is about 3 weeks.
• It takes around 12-16 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.
• Appearance is mainly confined to ports.
• Rarely outdoor and burrowing, is agile, and often climbs.
• They prefer moist fruits as food.
• They usually eat 15 gm. food and drink 15 ml. a day.

Norway Rat or Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)

• Up to 40 cm in length with a tail shorter than head and body.
• Weighs around 350-500 gm.
• Thicker body with blunt nose, and small ears as compared to black rats.
• 7-10 young per litter with 3-6 litters in a year.
• The gestation period is about 3 weeks.
• It takes around 10-12 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.
• Usually lives on the ground and burrows, climbs sometimes.
• Cereals are the preferred food.
• They eat around 30 gm. food and drink 60 ml. per day.

Wood Rat or Pack Rat

• Male size range from 31-47 cm. and female from 27 to 41 cm.
• Females weigh 250-350 gm. whereas males weigh 300-600 gm.
• They have long tails, large ears, and large black eyes.
• They are nest builders and use plant material such as branches, twigs, sticks, and other debris.
• They are fond of shiny objects and are vocal, and boisterous.
• They can live anywhere from low, hot deserts to cold, rocky slopes.
• In coniferous forests, they can build nests as high as 50 ft. up a tree.

Marsh Rice Rat

• Their length is 23 to 31 cm. with a tail of 11 to 16 cm. Males are larger than females.
• Body mass at around 40 to 80 gm.
• The forefeet have four and the hindfeet five digits.
• Some geographic variation occurs in fur color with the Florida population more tawny or reddish than others.
• The stomach has the characteristic pattern of sigmodontines (unilocular-hemiglandular).
• The gall bladder is absent, a synapomorphy (shared-derived character) of Oryzomyini.
• The population size is high in summer. It declines in winter.

How to Get Rid of Indoor Rats?

If you want to protect your house from rat infestation, you need to learn what attracts them there. You can take all the necessary measures, so, that you can guarantee that your house will not have a rat infestation. Food, water, and garbage will let them in, so, it is important to take care of these things properly. Once you deny them food and shelter, they won’t have any interest to invade your house.

Natural Home Remedies to Get Rid of Indoor Rats

For keeping the rats away, you can follow some basic principles which keep your house neat and clean. Despite this, if you come across rat activities in your house, you can try some natural home remedies to keep them away or kill them.

You can use the following methods –

• Seal the gaps – You must inspect your house from corner to corner and see if there is any smallest opening from where rats can enter. Rats can compress their bodies to get inside even from a tiny hole.
  
  Inspect the electrical and pipeline inlets too and caulk all the gaps.

• Keep food out of their reach – All the food must be properly sealed in strong containers because the rats can chew plastic containers and reach out to the food.
  
  Put cereal and pantry items into the airtight containers to avoid rats.

• Put rat traps – Set up a trail of traps with baits for rats. Mousetrap and rat traps are effective to keep the rats away from home. The traps must be laid down at potential entry points.

• Onions – The smell of onions is most hated by the rats. To maintain the effectiveness, ensure that you are changing the onions regularly at desired interval.

• Steel wool – The rats can’t chew the strong and sturdy steel wool therefore, whenever you want to block the entry points at cracks or holes, use steel wool which will provide strong protection.

• Peppermint oil – Cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil are to be placed in the appropriate places like potential entryways, kitchen cabinets, and suspected entry points. The smell of peppermint makes them uncomfortable and usually, they will keep away from such areas.

• Plaster of Paris and corn meal – Plaster of Paris and corn meal will work to kill the rats effectively.
  
  Mix one tablespoon of corn meal with plaster of Paris and spread it around the path of rats. This dual-action mixture will lure the rat and kill them effectively. This mixture will dehydrate and suffocate them.

• Hot pepper flakes – Hot pepper flakes will not only make humans sneeze but also keep rats away. Sprinkle hot pepper along the corners and entry points to get rid of vermin.

• Garlic bulb – Usually rats do not like strong smell. You can take the maximum advantage of their weakness. You need to mix chopped garlic with water and sprinkle it around your house or you can place garlic cloves in the pathway of rats to keep them away effectively.

• Cloves – Wrap the cloves in muslin cloth and place it near the rat holes. This will take very little effort but gives good result.

• Potato powder – Whenever you spread the potato powder around your house, the rats will follow it and happily eat it as food. However, when the powder enters their body, these flakes will swell up within their intestine and kill them.

• Ammonia – You can put ammonia on cotton balls and place them near rat holes, driveways, and other areas. The smell of ammonia makes them suffocated and they will soon run away from such places.

• Bay leaves – The natural aroma of the bay leaves attract the rats and they eat it as their food. However, when they try to feed upon it, they choke themselves and eventually die.
  
  Hence, you can place some bay leaves around your house.

• Cracks and crevices – You must locate the cracks and crevices on the wall and around any joint of the wall and floor. The rats can enter through small holes, therefore, one should not leave any invitational opening in the house.
  
  Seal them with strong materials like steel wool.

• Clear the clutter – Pests, insects, and bacteria are prone to be produced and attracted to the areas with dust and dirt. The areas not much in use must be under vigilance and avoid storing boxes and luggage directly on the floor. This will be welcome to the rats for their activity.

How to Get Rid of Rats with Pets in House?

The rat infestation can quickly become out of control. Rats make you uncomfortable and contribute in property damage, and posing health risk to you, family, and pets. When you own pets in the house, you must ensure the eradication methods do not harm your pet adversely. Rodenticides are one of the top ten rat poisons.

The severity of secondary poisoning depends on the type of rodenticide used and the amount of poison ingested. Even a small amount of poison can lead to internal bleeding, labored breathing, and other serious symptoms. With the pets in the house, you should try some methods which do not involve toxic elements.

One can try other methods such as –

• Non-toxic traps – It is a trap with non-toxic bait with a small opening to attract the rats. The opening allows only small pests like rats to reach and keep your pets away from it. The trap triggers a quick CO2-powered blow as soon as the rat enters inside and kills it immediately.

• Electronic rat traps – Electrocution is used to kill rats in these types of traps. The in-built sensor will detect an intruder and deliver an electric shock. Once the rat is dead you need to empty it after each kill.
  
  But this is quite a harsh method to kill rats.
  
  
• Traditional methods – These include glue trap, snap trap, or a cat to prey on rats. These methods are cheap but not very effective to control the infestation.
  
  Also, one needs to monitor consistently to replace the traps. The trap method is easy but the disposal can become difficult as it does not kill rats completely.

• Eliminate the source of attraction – The rats are attracted to the food and water in your house.
  
  If you can keep these things properly out of their look or smell, they are sure to miss out on them. This will prevent their entry into your house. Pet food or waste food in the outdoors given them the signal that there is a source and they can invade happily.

Chemical Treatment to Get Rid of Indoor Rats

When the infestation has gone quite high and invariably, you will witness some or other rat somewhere, then, it is time to go for chemical treatment. While it is ok to try conventional home remedies at lower infestation, it is advisable to call the professional for the larger infestation.

The chemical treatment consists of the following chemicals used –

• Bromethalin – It is a non-anticoagulant single-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Zinc Phosphide – It is a non-anticoagulant single-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Bromadiolone – It is an anticoagulant single-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Brodifacoum – It is an anticoagulant single-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Cholecalciferol – It is a non-anticoagulant single-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Difethialone – It is an anticoagulant single-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Chlorophacinone – It is an anticoagulant multiple-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Warfarin – It is an anticoagulant multiple-dose treatment with moderate to high acute oral toxicity.

• Diphacinone – It is an anticoagulant multiple-dose treatment with high acute oral toxicity.

• Bait stations with insecticide – Contains toxic bait made of insecticide ingesting which the rat dies after traveling a short distance.

It is very important to understand that these are highly toxic and categorized under regulations, so, let the professionals handle it.
 

How to Get Rid of Outdoor Rats?

To keep your house free of rats, it is essential to keep it free from activity outdoors. Once they get access to your yard or garden, then, they are bound to enter your house. This is natural as they would like to taste food in your house which is more lucrative to them.

As we all know, rats can chew almost everything and it is not an easy task to keep them at bay as they can chew the material used as a barrier too.

Natural Home Remedies to Get Rid of Outdoor Rats

Rats being simple but smart pests that mostly want food, water, and shelter. If you find their activity in your backyard means you have something left undone which has invited them to be there. This also means you need to take corrective measures to drive them out and prevent new ones to come.

What are the things one can do?

Let us see what those are –

• Check structure interiors – Inspect your house, garage, guest house, and any other structures on your property. Try to find out signs of activity such as droppings, gnaw marks, etc.
  
  If you find the presence, you can opt to use ultrasonic rats repellent to discourage them to enter.

• Protect the structures – The places like windows, under a doorway, crawl space entrances, attic fan, and other such points must be properly sealed by using sealant, steel wool, cedar planks, etc.
  
  All entry points of the house need to be worked upon.

• Secure garbage bins – The garbage bins in your outdoor can be a big attraction for the rats. You must ensure it is sealed with lids closed tightly to avoid any smell out of it.
  
  Also, ensure that the bins are replaced or cleaned thoroughly at regular intervals so that they won’t overflow and become a good harbourage to the rats.

• Compost bins – You must ensure to move, replace, or get rid of your compost bins as it may attract the rats as everything is thrown in compost bins like waste food, cardboard, paper, etc.
  
  You have to manage the piling of compost without compromise and ensure to set it away from trees, fences, and structures that could provide access to the rats.

• Manage the woodpile – Woodpile is the best place for rats to hide or sleep even if you have a dog as a pet in your house. They can easily escape by hiding under the smallest pile where dogs cannot reach. The best thing to do is to keep the outdoor woodpile at least 18 to 24 inches off the ground and few meters away from the structures.

• Cut trees and shrubs – You must trim the bushes and tree branches such that they do not land on your balcony and give access to the rats. Giving your trees and shrubs even bigger pruning may deter rats from making their homes there.

• Remove animal food – All animal feed like dog food, cat food, rabbit food, etc in your yards needs to be kept in completely sealed containers. If you want to reduce the rat population outdoors, it will be better to remove it from there. The containers must be rat-proof containers.

• Move or remove bird feeders – While it is a great gesture to maintain the bird feeders in your garden, it can be an invitation to the rats too. Therefore, either you can drop the idea, manage the time for it, or can place it at a smart place.
  
  This will prevent the rats to come to your yard.

• Vegetation in the garden – The long grown grass is a perfect place for rats to make burrows underneath. You need to ensure to keep it down and demark the garden and house entry by either putting tiles or a proper road.
  
  This will help you identify and prevent the movement of rats.

• Plan outdoor parties properly – When you are having an outdoor party, try to manage the food placement such that the rats can’t reach there. Do not let any food open and throw food waste in the surrounding area as this will also lure the rats.

• Guarding through pets– If you have pets in the house, make sure they spend most of the time outdoor rather than in the house. This will give a signal to the rats about their presence and they will keep out of your house as a cat or dog can very well take care of rats, sometimes making them prey too.

• No pet waste outside – If you are thinking to throw the unused pet food outside, it will be a mistake since that can also be the food for rats. Pet food have nutrient that help rats to survive and this will lead to rat-infestation quickly.

• Block the potential entry passages – The underneath place of the non-moving structure is the most preferred place for rats to enter the house.
  
  Additionally, if there is another structure near, it means they will get the proper hiding place too as they do not move much after entering the insecure area for them. Once they enter, they immediately look for shelter first and not food.

• Planting lavender and mint plants – It is much better to plant lavender or mint just outside the house or at an appropriate place. The smell of lavender or mint is very strong and rats hate this smell.
  
  This will give you a pleasant scented atmosphere while keeping the rats away.

• Spray the peppermint or eucalyptus – The strong odor of peppermint or eucalyptus has proven an effective rat repellent. Spraying it around your yard area and outside main entry will give great results concerning the rat’s entry.

Chemical Treatment to Get Rid of Outdoor Rats

Considering your outdoor area, you need to plan the chemical treatment there. While it is clear that these chemicals are to be handled by professionals because such chemicals need a license to store and use under government pest control guidelines. Do not even try to use it yourself as they are all hazardous chemicals and the effect is almost immediate on one’s health.

The listed chemicals and their properties are as mentioned below –

First-generation rodenticides –

• Diphacinone – The type is anticoagulant, multiple-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is low for birds and animals and secondary poisoning risk moderate for birds and high for mammals.

• Chlorophacinone – The type is anticoagulant, multiple-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is low for birds and mammals and secondary poisoning risk low for birds and high for mammals.

• Warfarin – The type is anticoagulant, multiple-dose treatment. It has moderate to high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is low for birds, moderate for mammals, and high for cats. Secondary poisoning risk is moderate in birds and mammals.

Second-generation rodenticides –

• Bromadiolone – The type is anticoagulant, single-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is moderate for birds and high for mammals. Secondary poisoning risk is moderate in birds and mammals.
  
  
• Brodifacoum – The type is anticoagulant, single-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is high for birds and mammals. Secondary poisoning risk is high for birds and mammals.

• Difethialone – The type is anticoagulant, single-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Both primary and secondary poisoning risk is high for birds and moderate for mammals.

Non-anticoagulant rodenticides –

• Zinc Phosphide – The type is non-anticoagulant, single-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is high for birds and mammals. Secondary poisoning risk is low for birds and mammals.

• Bromethalin – The type is non-anticoagulant, single-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Both primary and secondary poisoning risk is low for birds and mammals.

• Cholecalciferol – The type is non-anticoagulant, single-dose treatment. It has high acute oral toxicity. Primary poisoning risk is low to moderate for birds and mammals. Secondary poisoning risk is low for birds and mammals.

• Fipronil – Fipronil is rated as a carcinogen and it is a pyrethroid usually used as the pest control chemical. At lower concentrations, the toxicity is low but the inhalation can cause severe damage to the body.

How to Get Rid of Rats in Your Yard?

If you do not wish your home to become rat-infested, then, you must take action on keeping them out of your yard too. The rats are attracted to specific things and you have to take care to keep all things properly sealed. Only then, you might be successful to get rid of them.

If your yard area is properly floored, then it will be easier to keep everything properly as there is no vegetation and maintenance will become less.

One can follow some points as below –

• Opt for natural predators of rats – Try to encourage the natural rat predators like owl, to eliminate the rat infestation. Rats are scared of owls and they would not like to enter your yard.
  
  
• Use traps – You can use the traditional traps to prevent their entry. Make sure to put the traps inside a box or under a crate to keep them out of reach from other animals or birds.

• Smoke Bombs – This could be the best solution in case you have witnessed the burrows made by rats. Burrows will have a lot of loose soil and a hole at a specific angle.
  
  Avoid smoke bombs near trees, porch, or other flammable materials.

• Dry ice – If you use dry ice on burrows, the carbon dioxide released will anesthetize the rats and kill them. You can use this near trees or porch.

• Guard your yard – As the rats will come where the food is, you can control what you are serving up in your yard. Even keep the bird feeders off the ground to prevent luring the rats.

How to Get Rid of Rats from the Trees?

You may come across the unwanted guest presence signs while walking around your garden or yard. The dropping or the gnaw marks of rats may scare you. There is surely some activity of the rats going on. The trees also might have the rat’s activity, so, check at the branches and base of the trees for any burrows.  

Simple Ways to Get Rid of Rats from the Trees –

Some tips and methods when applied properly can be very useful to keep the rats at bay. You can prevent your garden and trees from contamination.

Following are some of them –

• Keep the surroundings clean – You have to take care of sheds and storage areas to avoid the possibility of rat infestation in your garden and trees.

• Manage garbage – You have to keep all the rubbish and garbage in the sealed containers with lids of the bin tightly closed to avoid attracting the rats.
  
  
• Store piles off the ground – You must ensure to keep the firewood or bricks off the ground about a height where rats can’t jump over.

• Clear-off the fruits – Take care of the fruits which fall on the ground after ripening. This is the biggest attraction to rats as the food.
  
  
• Cut the grass – Long grown vegetation is a good place for harbourage to the rats. They can easily dig burrows without anyone’s knowledge.

• Store bird food away – If you have chicken or other birds, then, ensure their food is always kept in vermin-proof sealed containers. If the rats are hungry, they can chew on the plastic containers to get the food.
  
  
• Holes and drains – Regularly inspect your house and surrounding for cracks, holes, or potential entry points as small as 5 mm. Rats can compress their bodies to enter through the tiniest holes.
  
  Also, plug the drains with proper mesh.

How to Find Rat Nests?

When we observe the activity of rats in our house we must find whether they have any nest inside the house. There are some definite signs which underline the presence of rats in the house. The signs are prominent and clear indications.

We can see what those are before we try to find out their nesting.

• Rat droppings – Droppings of brown rats are dark brown in a tapered, spindle shape – like a grain of rice.

• Rub marks – There will be smudges on the surfaces due to grease and dirt on their bodies.
  
  
• Scratching noises – You might hear the scratching noise of black rats at night while they climb on the lofts.

• Rat nests – Rats will shred soft material like cardboard, paper, or loft insulation. If you find such things, then, the rat nest is there.
  
  
• Rat holes – Extensive digging will indicate that it is burrows for shelter and storing the food by brown rats.

• Footprints – Rats will leave foot and tail marks in unused, dusty areas of the premises.

To find out their nests indoors, you can check the following areas –

• Lofts and attics – The best indicator is shredded material. If you find torn pieces of paper, cardboard, or insulation on loft or attics, then the rats are nesting there. You can also find rat droppings and chewed items in corners.

• Out of sight – Rats can squeeze inside unpredicted places like cavity walls, false ceiling, or crawlspaces.
  
  
• Laundries and kitchen – Check behind or below the appliances which you do not move frequently like washing machine or refrigerator. Inspect the pipe and cable entry points from outside.

Outdoors, you can find nests in the following places –

• Garages – Checked the entry signs near to shutter and alongside of walls. You may find gnaw marks there, which means this is their entry point.

• Garbage bins – As it is warm and contains food, it attracts rats quickly. You can confirm the presence if there are gnawing marks over bins.

• Vegetation – Overgrown vegetation is a good hiding and burrowing place for rats. Check for tree and shrub roots to look for nesting.

How to Treat Rat Bites?

Before we look into the treatment method, just remember that you can avoid the rat-bite by leaving them alone. They can bite in retaliation if you provoke or go near them. They are more afraid of you than you are of them.

In case of rat-bite, observe the following signs of infection –

• Redness
• Swelling
• Heat
• Weeping pus

You can opt for some steps of first aid like –

1. If not bitten, practice precautions and use personal protective equipment.
2. Control the bleeding and clean the wound with warm water and soap. Clean deep and rinse all soap away to avoid irritation.
3. Cover with clean and dry dressing. You can apply antibiotic ointment before dressing.
4. Contain the rat to confirm the infection.

Always consult a doctor in case of a rat bite. The rat-bite fever if untreated can be serious. Usually, the prescribed antibiotics will be –

• Penicillin
• Erythromycin
• Amoxicillin
• Doxycycline

Patients with severe fever from rat-bite might get a high dose of penicillin and either streptomycin or gentamicin.

FAQs

How to Get Rid of Rats under Pavers?

The pavers and window must be inspected for cracks and if there is any, seal it with steel wool as rats can’t chew this tough material.

How to Get Rid of Rats around Pool?

Avoid the water puddles and food waste around the pool. If possible, make tiling in the nearby area to prevent the rat invasion there.

How to Get Rid of Giant Rats?

Traps are the best solution because a giant dead rat is a nuisance to bear with and also difficult to dispose of.

So, simply catch them and hand them over to professionals for further action.

How to Get Rid of Rats under Carpet?

You might find them around and not physically below the carpet. One can try spraying ready to use rat repellent or can try a home remedy of peppermint oil-laden cotton balls.

How Vegans Get Rid of Rats?

Catching them in the traditional traps where they will eat their food but get caught. As per the need, you can keep 2-3 traditional traps if there are more than one.

How to Get Rid of Rats in Refrigerator?

They won’t survive inside the refrigerator but you can find them behind the refrigerator doing some nuisance with compressor wire or below refrigerator finding shelter.

Spread some natural rat repellent around the appliances.