Start with sanitation in the yard:

  • Inspect your yard regularly for signs of rats (chewing, black greasy marks, scat, piles of snail shells)
  • Guard the garbage (close lids on trash cans, especially yard waste cans with food waste)
  • Make sure compost bins are fully enclosed. Do not compost in open bins or piles.
  • Harvest fruit as soon as it ripens; pick up fallen fruit
  • Sweep up bird seed from the ground every evening
  • Bring in dog food and water every evening
  • Wood piles, stacks of materials, and tarps can provide shelter for rats
  • If you must store items in the yard, elevate them 18″ off the ground
  • Trim bushes and trees that may be used as shelter for rats (prune so that the ground beneath is visible- about 12 inches) Try to leave space between shrubs (1.5-2 feet). Tree branches should be 4-6 feet from housing structure.

 

Consider making changes to your landscape:

  • Remove vines and trim trees that serve as ladders to your roof/attic
  • Reduce harborage areas (dense ground covers such as ivy and thickly matted shrubs like bougainvillea), and replace with low water use native plants
  • Discourage snails by removing or reducing large expanses of ivy, succulents, hostas, etc
  • Here is a list of plants that are NOT generally attractive to rats

 

Use deterrents to discourage rats from your yard:

  • See AVOID section below.
  • Use a chemical repellent in lieu of rat poison (Pro-PELL, Fresh Cab, Rataway, Roadblock Bio-Repellent, Evictor, peppermint oil, cayenne pepper)
  • ScatMats can be placed between plants and used year after year. They come in tiles and rolls. Added bonus: they deter most cats and some dogs from digging in your garden.

 

Use non-poison baited traps:

  • Baited electric zappers (Raticator, Rat Zapper, Anticimex)
  • Mechanical traps should be enclosed in a bait box and NEVER LEFT IN THE OPEN.
  • Try to place traps on rat runways and dont expect rats to go out of their way to find it.
  • Place traps in the evening and remove them from use in the morning to protect other animals.
  • Be prepared to experiment with different baits. Peanut butter is a common component.
  • Dead animals should be wrapped in newspaper and disposed of in the trash container. If you are concerned about odor, you can double bag the carcass.

 

Be patient, persistent, and a good neighbor!

  • Be patient. It may take time to see results, find the right bait, etc. If you use a gardener and/or pest control company, it may require multiple conversations to get answers to your questions and a service in keeping with your preferences.
  • Be persistent. One approach may work well in one part of Uhills and not in another.
  • Be a good neighbor. Remember that rats often live in one yard and forage in another. Helping a neighbor clean out a wood pile may reduce the visits that the rats who live next door make to your yard. It may be time well-spent.

 

AVOID:

Avoid products and procedures that cause prolonged suffering to rodents. HOOT recommends humane forms of eradication that do not cause 5 days worth of suffering. Snap traps and electric zappers are fast, effective, and avoid a lingering death.

  • Sticky traps work through starvation after several days.
  • Newer rodenticides that are basically “stop-feed.” The animals stops eating and dies from organ failure after several days.
  • Ecoclear has a line of products (rat-rid, ratx) that are advertised as safe to use around pets and carry a low risk for secondary poisoning. These products are not of the “stop-feed” variety, but they are a “stop-drink” rodenticide. According to the manufacturer the ingested products coat “the lining of a part of the rodent’s lower gut. This coating of the ‘fine hairs’ in the lower gut, called villi, disrupts the messaging system to the rodents brain, causing it to stop drinking water. This leads to dehydration, blood thickening, kidney dysfunction, coma and eventual death… When used correctly death will occur within 3 – 5 days of regular feeding. More rodents may be seen during this period as they become lethargic and slower to react to disturbance.”
  • Trapping in a bucket with a swing trap will obligate you to humanely euthanize the rodents. Before you opt for a live trap, make sure you have a plan in place.
  • Trapping and relocating might sound like a good idea to those who object to killing animals, but California law prohibits it, even for rats.
Report an Owl Encounter, Rodent Sighting, or Possible Pet Poisoning to HOOT