How to get rid of rats in your garden (and when a rat isn't a problem)

In short: a single rat crossing the garden is common and usually just passing through. Burrows, runs, droppings and regular sightings mean one has settled. Most garden rats are there for food and shelter, so removing those does more than any spray or gadget. Traps work well when placed properly. Poison should be a last resort in a garden, especially with pets. Call a professional if rats are near the house, getting inside, or still there a few weeks after you've made changes.

Rats live alongside people almost everywhere in the UK. That isn't a reason to ignore them, but it's a good reason not to panic at the first one you see. What matters is whether a rat is passing through or has made your garden its home.

Is a rat in the garden in daylight dangerous?

Not in itself. Rats don't go looking for people, and they rarely bite unless they're cornered or handled.

But it does tell you something. Brown rats are mostly active at night. A rat out in daylight usually means one of three things:

• There are a lot of them, so weaker rats are pushed out to feed when it's quieter.
• Food is very easy to get, such as under a bird feeder or around a compost heap.
• Something disturbed its nest, such as building work, clearing a shed or flooding.

A one-off daytime sighting can be any of these. Daytime sightings over several days are a stronger sign that rats are living nearby in numbers, and that's worth acting on.

The real health risk comes from what rats leave behind. Their urine can carry leptospirosis, which causes Weil's disease, and their droppings can spread bacteria such as salmonella. Wear gloves when clearing areas rats have used, don't let children play where you've seen droppings, and wash hands after gardening.

Passing through, or living there?

Probably passing through if:

• You saw one rat, once, and nothing since.
• There are no holes, runs or droppings.
• It was moving along a fence, hedge or wall at dusk.

Probably living there if you find:

• Burrows. Smooth-edged holes, usually a little smaller than a tennis ball, under sheds, decking, paving, compost bins or at the base of walls. Fresh soil fanned out at the entrance means it's in use.
• Runs. Worn paths through grass or along the edges of walls and fences, used night after night.
• Droppings. Dark and spindle-shaped, larger than mouse droppings, often near food sources or burrows.
• Gnawing. On shed doors, compost bins, plastic pipes, hosepipes or wooden edging.
• Repeated sightings, especially in daylight.

If the holes in your lawn have soil heaped around them rather than a clean entrance, it may be moles, not rats. See our guide to molehills in the garden.

Why rats choose your garden

Rats need three things: food, shelter and water. Gardens often provide all three without anyone realising. Find which one your garden is offering and you're most of the way there.

Food:

• Bird feeders. The biggest single cause we see. Seed spills on the ground every day, and rats feed on it every night.
• Compost, especially with cooked food, bread, meat or dairy in it.
• Bins with lids that don't close, or bags left beside them.
• Pet food left outside, including food for chickens and rabbits.
• Fallen fruit and vegetable waste.

Shelter:

• The space under sheds, decking and summerhouses.
• Piles of wood, rubble, garden waste or stored materials.
• Dense, undisturbed planting against walls.
• Warm compost heaps, which make ideal nests in winter.

Water:

• Ponds, leaking taps and outside drains.
• Water butts without lids.

How to get rid of rats in the garden

1. Remove the food

Do this first, because nothing else works well while it's there.

• Put a tray under bird feeders, feed less at a time, and stop feeding for a few weeks while you deal with the rats.
• Don't put cooked food, bread, meat or dairy in the compost. Use a bin with a solid base, or fix fine wire mesh underneath it.
• Keep bin lids shut and bags inside the bins.
• Bring pet food in at night and store feed in metal bins.
• Pick up fallen fruit.

2. Remove the shelter

• Clear piles of wood, rubble and garden waste, or raise them off the ground.
• Block the gaps under sheds and decking with galvanised mesh, buried a little way into the soil so rats can't dig under it.
• Cut back dense growth against the house and fences.
• Turn the compost regularly. Rats don't like being disturbed.

3. Block the routes to the house

The garden matters most because it's often the step before the house. Check:

• Gaps around pipes where they go into walls.
• Damaged airbricks.
• Gaps under doors to garages and outbuildings.
• Drain covers and inspection chambers that are broken or loose.

If you've got rats in the house as well, our guides to signs of rats in the loft and rats under floorboards explain what to look for.

4. Trap, if they're still there

Once food and shelter are reduced, traps placed properly can clear a small number of rats:

• Use proper rat-sized break-back traps, placed in covered boxes or tunnels along runs and walls so pets, children and birds can't reach them.
• Rats are wary of new things, so leave traps unset for a few days with a little food in them, then set them.
• Check traps every day.
• Glue traps are banned for public use in England. Don't use them.

5. Poison is a last resort in a garden

Rat poison in a garden carries real risks. Pets can eat it, and so can wildlife. Owls, foxes and other predators can be poisoned by eating rats that have taken it. If rats eat a little and survive, the problem continues.

If poison is needed, it should only be used in secured, tamper-resistant bait boxes, placed where pets and children can't reach them, for a set period, and removed when the job's done. Loose bait, pellets thrown under a shed or bait left down "just in case" do more harm than good.

Do rat deterrents and repellents work?

This is where a lot of money gets wasted.

• Ultrasonic devices. There's little good evidence that they keep rats away for long. Rats get used to the noise, and the sound doesn't travel through walls, fences or planting.
• Peppermint oil, chilli and other smells. They may have a short effect in a small space, but they don't stop a rat that has food and shelter in your garden.
• Granules and sprays sold as rat repellents. The same applies. There's little evidence they work outdoors.
• What actually works: removing food and shelter, and proofing. They're less exciting than a gadget, but they're what makes a garden somewhere a rat doesn't want to live.

Do dogs and cats keep rats away?

Sometimes, but not reliably. A busy dog in the garden can put rats off, and some terriers will hunt them, but plenty of dog owners still get rats, especially where there's a bird feeder. Cats will catch young rats but rarely tackle adult ones. Our guide to whether dogs deter rats goes into this in detail.

If you have a dog:

• Ask your vet whether your dog is protected against leptospirosis.
• Never use loose rat poison where your dog can get to it.
• If you think your dog has eaten rat poison, call your vet straight away, even if they seem fine. Symptoms can take days to appear.

When to call a professional

Call a pest controller if:

• You've found burrows or droppings close to the house.
• You hear scratching in the walls, loft or under the floor.
• There's gnawing on pipes, cables or anything attached to the house.
• You've removed food and shelter and the signs are still there after a few weeks.
• Neighbours have the same problem, which can point to a shared cause such as the drains.
• There are a lot of rats. If you see substantial numbers on your property, the law expects you to let your local council know.

How we help

We treat rats across Kent and East Sussex. We start with an inspection to find out where they're living, what's attracting them and how they could get into the house, then treat, monitor and proof the entry points. We'll use methods that are safe for your pets and family, and we'll tell you what you can do yourself. See rat control.

GEM Services is a BPCA member company, assessed against BS EN 16636, with £10 million public liability insurance. There's no call-out fee, and you get a free, no-obligation quote before any treatment starts. Get in touch.