How to Get Rid of Rats in Your Yard

Control Your Trash

Rats are attracted to trash, especially if you have a bunch of food scraps and leftovers in your trash. Always make sure you take the trash out in tightly-sealed bags and that the bags are placed in bins with the lid securely on top. All it takes is one hole in the bag or a cracked lid to start reeling in rodents. Your chances of attracting rodents are even higher if you tend to take the trash out the night before it’s picked up. It’s better to get in the habit of taking your trash out early in the morning so that it doesn’t sit on your curb as long.

Keep Your Yard Clean

Trash doesn’t just refer to the things in black bags that you take out once or twice a week. If you have a bunch of leaves, dead plants, or cardboard boxes that have been piling up in your yard, you’re basically asking for rats to come over. Rats love burrowing in piles and feeding off the plants that are in their reach. They enjoy dark spaces, and they have no problem making a home on the side of the house that you’ve been neglecting. As such, it’s on you to make sure your entire yard is in good shape. It doesn’t have to be completely spotless, but you’re better off having it more clean than messy.

Close Off the Area

Here’s something to think about: is your yard closed off or open for all kinds of animal intruders? Have you assumed the fence was holding up just fine only to realize there are a bunch of cracks and loose boards? If you have an open yard, it might be time to invest in some fencing. If you do have a fence that goes all the way around, make sure you keep up with maintenance. Closing off the area makes it practically impossible for rats to get into your yard. They will, however, try to find a way if you don’t take care of the things mentioned above. You can have the nicest fence you want, but if there’s trash sitting on the driveway all night or a neglected part of the yard welcoming the rats over, you may still have a few unwanted visitors.

Get the Help of Other Animals

Say you’ve already tried cleaning, and you’ve fixed the fencing, but the rats still haven’t left. It might be time to create a team effort and get the help of a pet or even a wild animal. Think about it: you don’t like rats, but dogs and cats enjoy chasing them, and owls love to feed on them. It sounds like a crazy idea, but it works. If your pets are strictly indoor, consider adopting an outdoor cat that can handle the rats. This way, you’re giving an animal a home and creating a simple solution to your rat problem. Plus, you don’t risk the chance of your dog bringing a dead rat inside the house! 

If you’re not much of a pet person, luring owls into your yard is the best option. This is a fun, exciting project that helps you get rid of rats in the yard. You basically just have to build a large birdcage to feed the owls with, and they’ll start coming. You may have a few squirrels try to steal the food, or some other birds that aren’t interested in rats catch on first. But if you keep trying, the owl you’re waiting for is bound to come to the rescue. The birdcage is what will lure it to your yard, and the rat presence will keep it coming back for its food (and your rat solution).

Set Traps

Setting traps is the final option you can try to get rid of rats in the yard. It sounds like the most reasonable solution at first, until you realize you have to clean up the traps after putting them out. It’s not very fun to handle smelly dead rats, but it’s necessary if nothing else has worked. Take some time to research different trap options before you go out to buy them and set them up. You want this to take care of your problem as quick as possible, and it would be a shame to have to keep trying different traps until you get it right. Keep in mind that it’s not a good idea to put rat poison outside. This can harm the plants you have in the yard and do some significant damage to the natural wildlife in the area, too. Not to mention, it poses a big threat to the pets in your home and to your neighbors’ pets.

How to Get Rid of Rats in Your Yard: Call the Professionals

The final way to get rid of rats is to hand the matter over to the professionals. There’s no need to learn how to get rid of rats in your yard yourself if you have the number of a professional rodent control team to take care of it. If you need to get rid of rats right away, you can call us at 844-326-3100 or 772-334-7007 for immediate help in any of the different locations we service.