Rats in raised bed

[HaddockDiem]

We live in urban area and have raised beds at the bottom of our patio. We noticed tunnelling and piles of soil around and in the bed and our old dog is sniffing and poking around the area but too dozy to catch anything 😂 We are pretty sure we have rats living there and we want to get rid of them in the most humane way possible.

has anyone tried an electronic device to scare them off? We already removed all bird food from the area.

No way would I use poison and I’m quite Squamish about using traps but I will if all else fails!!

I would just let them live their lives but apparently they’ll create tunnels and cause damage to plants and I also worry they’ll increase

Thanks for any advice x

Neighbour in our street had them in their raised flowerbeds, theirs were made from railway sleepers. They managed to get shot of them (well, that’s what the neighbour did 🤣).

They got rid of bird food and feeders and then lined the inside of the sleepers with galvanised sheets and started again.

Rats don't like the smell of mint - maybe pop a couple of pots of mint plants around the area. However - I have pet rats and the honest truth is that if they want something they are pretty determined. My advice would be to install something that scares/spooks them so they run away, something noisy, or that moves, or flashes or something, just for a little while so that they get the impression this is not a comfortable place to be and then move on somewhere else. I wonder if they would avoid a fake owl or something like that if it looked convincing enough? Definitely don't use poison, I saw a young rat dragging itself across a lawn after ingesting poison once and it was so sad and horrible, it was clearly really suffering.

They like raised beds because they are warm and dry. Watering would deter them.

Thing is I water very regularly but hasn’t put the little buggers off 😂

Get a cat? 😂😸

@pinneddownbytabbies Dog says no!! Actually we had rats couple years back and next doors ( stunning) bengal Ted wiped them so maybe Ted will come go the rescue

We have moles, badgers, doormice, hedgehogs, and probably loads of others that we never see. Its their garden too.

Can you put the hose down the tunnels? I had a rat digging on my allotment so put a can of water down the hole and it didn't come back. Is the bed actually wet through? Probably not ideal for your plants in the long term but neither are the rats!

I don't see the problem to be honest, unless they are causing a problem just leave them alone

I've had a mole in the garden before. Ye Gods, the mess one mole can make is staggering.