Will Repellents Get a Rat Out of the Attic?



For a very long time, rats and humans have been battling for living space and this war is seemingly not about to end anytime soon. Despite everything that the rat removal companies say about their products, it is still a fact that humans are losing this war – mostly because of misconceptions. The truth of the matter is that despite being held in high regard, most of these so called repellants don’t work and here is why.

Pros and Cons of Using Rat Repellants to Eliminate Your Rat Problem

As curate’s egg hypothesis dictates, everything that has a good side always comes with a bad side. So let’s start with the advantages of using rat repellants to take care of your rodent problem. Some of the effective rat repellants include ammonia, peppermint oil, toilet cakes, human hair, predator urine, a live cat, and a sound machine among others.

You can also get yourself a working strobing light machine since the rats do hate moving lights.

As far as the cons are concerned, well, rats have proven to be way more intelligent than humans think. For instance, the strobing light machines can only scare rats within the first few days. But once they figure out that it's just another one of human’s gimmicks, they will ignore it as if it's not even there.

Human hair doesn’t work with rats because it is clear that they are already used to seeing us. Toilet cakes don’t scare rats even for a second despite the fact that many people believe it to be so. Peppermint oil can attract rats and as such very good bait. But since we are eager to keep the rats AWAY and not ATTRACT them, it really doesn’t make the cut as a repellant contrary to common knowledge.

Are There Any Rat Repellant Alternatives?

In most cases, there are no guarantees that the rat repellant that you use will bear fruit. That said it is very important that you have alternatives at your disposal. One of the most popular ways of eliminating your rat problem is using humane traps. Using the appropriate bait, you will definitely have a much better chance at getting the rats to come out of the attic.

There are plenty of commercial rat traps that have been approved by animal rights groups as safe and humane and therefore suitable for handling rats. Some of these brands include electronic mouse traps, live traps, glue traps, and rodenticides as bait. These electronic mouse traps are humane as they deliver high voltage shocks to the rodent, killing it instantly without much suffering.

The glue traps will help capture the rats, and you can then dispose them far away from your home. And once you have sealed off the cracks and other openings that can allow rats to slip into your home, the next step that you ought to take will be keeping it that way.

Other seemingly minor things that you can end up doing will without a doubt give you the upper hand in everything that you do. For instance, sealing off leftovers securely in a fridge or a kitchen cabinet will discourage rats from hanging around your home.

Read the How to get rid of rats page for helpful information and to learn more about Will Repellents Get a Rat Out of the Attic?

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