What Smells Keeps Rats Away?

Rats are disgusting and terrifying and should be eliminated from your environment. Fortunately, they are natural remedies to keep rats away.

Rats have a strong sense of smell, and you can take advantage of that. Continue reading to know what smells keep rats away from your household. But before we continue, let us look at what rats are.

 

Facts You Should Know About Rats?

Rats are a species of medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats can be seen all through the group Rodentia, however, the genus Rattus contains the prototypical rats.

Neotoma (pack rats), Bandicota (bandicoot rats), and Dipodomys are some other rat genera (kangaroo rats).

The size of rats distinguishes them from mice. A huge muroid rodent’s popular option will generally have included the word “rat,” but a lesser muroid’s name will typically include the word “mouse.”

The names rat and mouse have no taxonomic significance. There are 56 recognized species of rats worldwide.

 

Read also: Getting Rid Rats and Mice With Baits

 

So, What’s the Big Deal About Rats?

Is it that horrible to have rats around? Rats can create a wide range of issues in the home.

They gnaw on things like wood, furniture, siding, and electrical wiring. They enjoy fruits, nuts, and vegetables and will happily eat your garden or the fruits from your fruit tree.

 

Why Are There Rats in My House?

Rats, like all other animals, are simply attempting to stay alive. They’ll need three items to accomplish so:

• Water
• Food
• Shelter

Rats, just like every other unwanted guest, are hunting for these three factors. If your house has a comfortable attic that is never occupied, they will use it as a shelter.

Food can be provided by remaining pet food, and water can be provided by dripping sinks or wet bathtubs.

 

Read also: Do Rats Have Bones?

 

What Smells Keeps Rats Away?

Below are very effective smells that keep rats away, read on to know more.

1. Citronella

While citronella is well-known for mosquito repellents and other flying insects, there is also some indication that the fragrance may be unpleasant to rats.

For example, most researchers have found that rats avoided food in areas of their pens sprayed with citronella oil, choosing to eat from the untouched side of their pens.

The researchers found that using citronella daily could work as a natural rodent deterrent.

 

 2. Clover Plants

Clover plants are extremely scented, which might also explain the reason they are so effective in deterring rats.

These deceptively beneficial plants frequently clutter your yard in the spring – and also who knew they had such a great utility!

There are two ways to employ clover plants to repel rats. One can select the flowers in your garden and distribute them in locations wherever you wish rodents to stay away.

This takes time, and the flowers must be replaced every 3-5 days to preserve the scent fresh.

Soaking the plants in water is also another method. The fragrance of the blossoms will permeate the water, which can be placed in a spray bottle.

Just use a spray to deter rats near drainage openings, garage doors, window frames, and rooftop stuff.

 

3. Eucalyptus

Among the factors that eucalyptus aroma can be utilized as a rodent, the deterrent is that it includes components that rodents dislike.

One disadvantage of utilizing eucalyptus oil is that you must spray it daily keeping the rats at bay.

On the plus side, even though rats dislike the fragrance of eucalyptus, the delightful fragrance will keep your house feeling pleasant.

 

4. Ammonia

Ammonia has an extremely strong chemical odor. In the home, it occurs in the form of ammonium hydroxide. Many individuals use it to clean floors such as bathtubs, tiles, and sinks.

Another application for household ammonia is rat repellent. The simplest approach to using ammonium hydroxide to repel rats is to wet dry rags or cotton balls in it and position them in uncovered bags or containers.

Put the bags/containers in locations where you wish rodents to stay away. Consider attic areas or window frames, basements water pipes, or spots wherein rat excrement has been discovered.

 

Read also: Can Rats Swim?

 

5. Onions and Garlic

Garlic is useful for more than just repelling vampires. It is effective against a variety of pests, particularly rats, raccoons, and deer.

Garlic’s greatest deterrent is its pungent odor. That is allicin. It is the chemical responsible for garlic’s characteristic odor.

Allicin, like capsaicin in chili peppers, is a plant defensive mechanism meant to discourage mammals from consuming it.

Onions, like garlic, possess a very distinct and powerful odor. This is because they contain sulfur-containing chemicals.

Some sulfuric chemicals, like allicin, emit a pungent scent that makes rats think long and hard about approaching.

You can use whole cloves to surround sensitive areas, but this can be expensive, and the cloves will ultimately decay and must be renewed.

Alternatively, create a spray with both garlic and onion:

• 4 cups water, brought to a boil
• 1 chopped onion and 2-4 garlic cloves
• Turn the heat down and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool fully.
• Fill a glass spray bottle halfway with water and strain the mixture.

Gently spray it all around rat breeding grounds.

 

6. Citronella Essential Oil

Rats despise citronella. It was kind of strange when we consider about it since, aside from being an overpowering aroma to a rat, it smells clean, doesn’t it?

Fresh and clean is a no-no for rats, so it’s no wonder that they despise citronella! Citronella is a strongly disliked fragrance among animals.

Because the scent is so powerful, it will overload a rat’s senses, making it nearly impossible for the rat to look for food and defend itself from attackers.

Citronella is so potent that a rat will flee it just because its inability to smell makes them feel insecure.

 

Read also: How to Prevent Rats from Getting in your Car

 

7. Chili oil or Chili Powder

Chili powder is also another effective approach to keep these pesky bugs from entering your home.

Capsaicin is the active constituent in chili peppers. It is said to be a strong rodent repellant however when inhaled, it causes a burning sensation in the mouths of mammals.

Spread chili powder all over the exterior of your house, giving special consideration to potential entry points for rats.

One can also employ it in areas of your home where rats may congregate, such as beneath furniture or in narrow areas.

 

Finally

I believe reading this article to this point, you have discovered what smells keeps rats away. We have carefully selected effective smells that can keep rats away from your home.

Hope this article was helpful enough for you.  Do well to leave feedback in the comment section, we are anticipating your feedback.

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