5 DIY Ways to Keep Rats Out of Your House

Last updated on October 9, 2023

Here are five trusted DIY ways that will help you get rid of rats and keep them out of your house. Read on!

No one wants to find a rat in their trash, or even worse, living somewhere in their yard or home. But the truth is, rats are an often unavoidable occurrence in the life of any homeowner across America, so if you can’t beat them, the best thing to do is… research some fast and easy ways to keep them away!

Below, you will find a bunch of great DIY ways to repel rats from your home. These ways are a more natural and safer alternative to store-bought rat repellent.

Clean Up

floor cleaning with cloth

One of the best ways to keep rats out of your home is keep everything cleaned up. This includes food scraps, pet food, grass clippings and leaves and sticks. By continuing to keep your home and yard tidy, rats won’t be attracted to your home. This mess will provide them with food to eat and a place to live. Prevention is one of the best methods to keep rats away. 

Hot Pepper Flakes

Red hot pepper flakes

At first, it sounds strange, but it’s not really surprising that rats don’t like hot pepper, since it has such a strong scent and flavor. Sprinkling hot pepper flakes around your yard and near potential entry points is thought to be an easy and effective way of deterring rats from approaching your property.

Peppermint Oil

peppermint oil

Peppermint oil is often recommended as a DIY natural rat repellent. It makes sense if you think about it. Peppermint is known for its powerful scent and aroma, which rats find nauseating and tend to avoid like the plague (if you’ll forgive the joke). 

Many experts recommend dousing cotton balls in peppermint oil and scattering these around the house to avoid a rat infestation. However, the truth is that this is a very short-term method, as you will have to replace the peppermint cotton balls every few hours to keep the potency. 

Say No to Mothballs

rat poison

Here is something you shouldn’t do. Another so-called DIY remedy against rats that everyone seems to be recommending is placing moth balls around your house, but the truth is, these are quite ineffective. See, the amount of ammonia inside a mothball is small, usually enough to kill a moth or something tiny. So obviously, too little to actually pose a threat to a rat, so even if they may find the smell unpleasant, rats won’t avoid your house if you leave mothballs around.

Rat Traps

rat trap

Obviously, we’re talking live traps, because there’s no reason why you should use deadly traps when you don’t absolutely have to. Never use glue traps! These are inhumane and ineffective. If you have a rat problem or suspect you might, and you want to deal with it yourself, simply purchase some live traps for rats. These will catch the rats and allow you to transport them to a different location, where they can’t bother anyone. Be sure to take them far away from your home. If you just take them out to your yard, they can easily get back into your home. 

These DIY ways are great to start, but if you give up, you can always hire a professional. 

Recap

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