‘They hate the stuff!’ the 12p hack gardeners are swearing by to keep nasty rats out for good
THEY’RE one of the nastiest pests to have to deal with.
But there’s a 12p hack that gardeners are swearing by to keep rats away for good, as the pesky rodents “hate the stuff”.
Green-fingered Julie Finch took to the Gardening Hints and Tips group on Facebook to share her tried and tested trick.
“I get rats in the garden occasionally and have tried a few methods to move them on (purely because I have four bunnies),” she began.
“This time I’ve tried raw onion (I’d read about it that they hate the stuff) and it seems to have worked perfectly.”
She chopped up a raw onion – which you can get for as little as 12p in the supermarket – and put it down the rat hole before covering it in soil.
“The next morning a new hole appeared, presumably to get out, so I did the same again, Julie said.
“New holes appeared for the next two days but nothing since!”
And pest control expert Jordan Foster, from Fantastic Pest Control, agreed that onions work wonders when it comes to repelling rats.
“You can grow onion in your garden or place it at the most common entry points for rats,” he told Express.co.uk.
“Once they smell it, they’ll run.”
“Making beds with onion, garlic, and leeks is a great way to keep rodents and other pests at bay.”
However, you must remember to change up the onion every few days, otherwise it will end up rotting.
The vegetable can be dangerous for dogs though, so be careful if you have pets.
There are other natural ways you can repel rats too – with peppermint oil another option.
“Place cotton in the burrow after it’s been dipped in peppermint.” he said.
“You’ll need to change the cotton every three to four days, but the rats won’t stick around for too long.”
Or try bay leaves, but be prepared to deal with fatal consequences.
“Bay leaves are deadly for rats,” he explained.
“They eat it thinking it’s food. It’s poisonous for them, so they’re going to die.”