Keeping Rats Out of Your Garden



Rats can be troubling enough when they are inside your home, but when you have spent the summer laboring daily to grow fresh fruits and vegetables, them devouring your precious cantaloupe, watermelon, carrots, or lettuce can be too much. Something needs to be done, but is there really a way that you can keep rats out of your garden?

The Challenge May Seem Daunting
There is no doubt that this can seem like an overwhelming problem. These are very small animals that are able to dig, climb, or burrow their way through most obstacles. Plus, if you have a large garden area, it may seem like there is no way that you can keep them out. This may have you thinking that you should just give up now.

Time to Get to Work
While the problem may seem daunting, it is not insurmountable. There are things that you can do to keep rats out of your garden area, but they are going to require some work on your part to be successful.

Fencing
Let's start with the basics. Offense is the very best way to create a barrier between the rats in your fruits and vegetables. However, this cannot just be any ordinary fence. You have to choose a type of material that doesn't allow for any type of crack between boards. Any kind of wiggle room that is afforded these rodents may allow them to get inside. So, you not only need to connect each piece so that there is no gap, but you may need to seal the hinges as well.  Also, the fence should be at least 4 feet high and should be buried at least 18 inches below the surface of the ground. Rats can dig, but if you have buried your fence deep enough, they will not be able to get through there. As an added precaution, placed jagged rocks in the dirt when you bury the fence in. This will present an additional barrier.

Mote
Many people consider their house to be a castle, and now it's time to put that into action. Build a mote around the exterior part of your garden. Make it at least 2 feet deep and at least 3 feet across. Filled with water, it becomes an additional barrier that will stop the rat from being able to cross and get into your garden area.

Predator Urine
This may seem like a disgusting option, but predator urine really does work. There are predators out there that rats are deathly afraid of, and when they smell the urine of these animals, they are going to run. There are commercial repellents you can buy as well, but they pose a danger to the soil, which could ultimately endanger your fruits and vegetables. Predator urine offers no such danger. It becomes a great deterrent, especially when you place it around the exterior part of the fence. The rat can't be sure that there isn't a cat or raccoon around, so it simply stays away.

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