This makes peppermint oil, chili powder, citronella, and eucalyptus the most common natural rodent repellents. Chemical smells, such as ammonia, bleach, and mothballs also work as mice deterrents.
You can repel rats from your home and garden with scents they dislike, such as clover, garlic, onion, hot peppers containing capsaicin, house ammonia, used coffee grounds, peppermint, eucalyptus, predator (cat) scent, white vinegar, and citronella oil.
Rats cannot tolerate smells such as ammonia, mothballs, peppermint oil, crushed cayenne pepper, and pepper spray due to their intensified sense of smell. Clean and uncluttered homes and yards scare rats due to the lack of food and places to hide, as well.
How Strong is a Rat's Sense of Smell? Rats rank pretty high in terms of olfactory abilities. In fact, Harvard research shows that rats are highly sensitive to smells, and some species have even been trained to detect odors specific to land mines and tuberculosis.
Essential oils that may be helpful in repelling rats and mice include peppermint oil, lemon oil, citronella oil, and eucalyptus oil. You can make an essential oil spray by mixing 2 teaspoons of oil with 1 cup of water or rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Then spray it anywhere you see traces of rodents.
Pest Control – Eucalyptus is an effective remedy against pests like pantry moths, mice, or rats. To keep these pests out, place cotton balls moistened with two drops of eucalyptus oil in cabinets and drawers. For rodents, like mice or rats, the goal is to keep them outside where they belong.
Lavender has very a strong aromatic scent and is quite effective at repelling rats, mosquitoes, and moths. Alternatively, to growing this herb, you could sprinkle a few stalks around the base of plants in your garden creating a barrier and keeping rats at bay.
Some people have found that they can deter rats from coming onto their property by using certain smells and aromas. The most effective smells are essential oils, specifically; peppermint, castor, and citronella. These are good choices because while their smell is powerful, many people also find the aromas pleasant.
It's cost-effective: Using salt to deter rats is one of the most cost-effective methods of keeping these rodents at bay. Salt is readily available in most homes and hence doesn't require you to purchase additional products.
Eucalyptus or Peppermint oil can repel rats because they hate the smell. Another way to use a rat's sense of smell against them is to plant peppermint and catnip in strategic places. Diatomaceous earth is non-toxic to humans, but it can dry out rats until they die.
This makes peppermint oil, chili powder, citronella, and eucalyptus the most common natural rodent repellents. Chemical smells, such as ammonia, bleach, and mothballs also work as mice deterrents.
In many environments, chocolate or nut butter proves to be a great rat lure because it gives off such an attractive, distinctive aroma.
Use Dry Ice. One effective way to get rid of rats outdoors without poison is to use dry ice. Dry ice produces carbon dioxide, which anesthetizes and kills rats.
Repel Rats
Try these natural options: Spread peppermint oil, cayenne pepper, black pepper, or cloves around the home's exterior to prevent the rats from entering the house in the first place. Apply your substance of choice generously along the line between your foundation and the ground.
Just as how humans dislike the strong smell of bleach, rats also avoid it.
Bitter pill. In rats, aspirin seems to reduce masculinization of the brain. A new study finds that male rat fetuses exposed to aspirin have a less masculinized brain and a reduced sex drive as adults.
In addition to plants, rats also dislike certain spices like peppermint, cloves, cayenne pepper, and chili. The smell of these near your bird feeder will also deter rats.
Spray ammonia on small cotton balls and place them near rat holes, driveways, and other corner of your house. The smell of ammonia will make them feel suffocated and they will soon run away from your home in order to save their lives.
While rats and mice are attracted to food odors, they aren't interested in the smell or taste of coffee grounds. In fact, both used and fresh coffee grounds repel mice and rats.
That said, bleach has a distinct smell that rats hate so wiping surfaces or spraying it in infested areas is a good rat repellent.
It is proven that the eucalyptus scent is a strong mice repellent. You can easily mix up a DIY eucalyptus oil spray using two teaspoons of eucalyptus oil, one cup of water and a couple of drops of liquid detergent.
Coffee's bitter compounds are responsible for its repelling effects. These compounds make the coffee unpalatable to rats and mice. They will avoid areas where there is the use of coffee grounds.
Mint plants can be planted in strategic places around the garden and the rats will be repelled from these areas. The disadvantage here is that the areas that the rats spend time may not be convenient places for a mint plant. Dustbin bags. Anti-rat bin-bags are often flavored with mint and this can keep them away.