A PEST control expert has revealed a £1.25 hack to make sure that rats stay out of your garden this summer.
Rats can cause a great nuisance in the summer, as ripe crops attract them into the garden.
They can also find their way into homes, so it is important to make sure your bin is completely covered, to deter them.
As well as causing annoyance by eating your fruit and vegetable plants, they can also contaminate your soil, as rat droppings can contain diseases which are harmful to humans.
You may be tempted to use rat poison to get rid of the pests, however, this is very dangerous for pets as it can kill any animal that ingests it.
Instead, pest expert Marcus Mueller, from Skedaddle shared some more humane methods of getting rid of the creatures.
He said: “Keeping rats away from your vegetable garden can be a daunting challenge, but it is an important strategy for keeping them from entering your home.”
Marcus revealed that the first step to ensuring your garden is rat free is to look for potential entry points that rats could get in through, such as holes in fences.
He said: “Rats often enter gardens by climbing over fences [or] using low-hanging tree branches. You can deter rodents by properly maintaining the trees on your property.
“Trim back branches to keep rats from using them as highways.
“You should also collect and discard fallen fruit to prevent the rats from accessing an easy food source.”
Marcus added that you can lather your fence with Vaseline (£1.25 from Boots) to make it too slippery for rats to climb over.
To protect your fruit and veg from being eaten, Marcus suggested putting a fence around them, so that rats cannot access them.
He said: “Remember that rodents can squeeze through small holes, so wire and chain-link fencing is not always effective for keeping rats out of the garden.
“Opt for a wooden fence that has no holes in the exterior if you want to prevent rats from feasting on your garden vegetables.”
He added that it is important to mow your lawn regularly, so that rats have less places to hide.
He said: “Rats prefer to avoid interactions with humans.
“They like to hide on properties with tall grass to avoid being seen by people and predators.
“If you maintain your yard and mow the yard frequently to keep it from getting tall, you eliminate many of the spaces rodents use as hiding spots.”
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