Expert Warns About One Common Birdfeeder Mistake That Could Invite Rodents Into Your Garden

On some days, in the middle of the night, a party of hungry rats notoriously sneaks into your garden, squeezing fuzzy little bodies through a hole or an old pipe with a mouth left open. Messy eaters as birds are, the high-fat foods spilled by them around the feeder would instantly attract the attention of this rodent gang. Like ghosts, they prowl and crawl over your pristine flowerbed, smashing, crushing, ripping, and wreaking havoc on the plants. While some rats will have their meal and move on to some other house, others will lurk inside your space.

These unwelcome guests will slip inside cosy nooks and dense shrubbery, and claim it as their permanent residence until you step up and take the initiative to shoo them away. Unless you send them packing, they will keep on ravaging your garden by eating food from the feeders, dropping their poop balls, and sometimes lure cats. As reported by the Express, Laurence Barnard, the Country Business Manager and pest control specialist at British Pest Control Association (BPCA), explains why and how some pestering rodents creep into your garden, and what’s the correct strategy to drive them away.

Rats, Barnard said, are primarily drawn to food sources, including “unsecured rubbish,” “pet food left outside or compost heaps,” or any other available food. "The biggest reason people experience rat problems is the availability of food, water, and shelter,” the expert explained. "Rats are opportunistic and will use any environment that provides easy access to these essentials. Poor waste management, compost bins, bird feeders, pet food left outside, and gaps in buildings or compromised drainage systems, all create ideal conditions for them to thrive,” he added.

Apart from rubbish bins, Barnard pointed out that “urban areas and extensive sewer systems” are prone to rodent infestations as they provide the perfect environment for them to travel and scavenge for food. The uninvited rodents also slip inside the garden to seek warmth and shelter when winters roll out. In these times, they are most likely to look for places that are cluttered, stockpiled, or strewn with stuff. They find little gaps among this stuff to create their own cosy corners where they live, eat, mate, and breed.

Barnard shared that rats can also squeeze through holes as small as a penny, which is why gardeners and homemakers should keep the entry points, doors, and vents properly sealed. Another effective way to get these pesky intruders out is to trim the overgrown vegetation, such as dense shrubs, piles of wood, cluttered sheds, nesting sites, and feeders, of course. Plus, the trash from the kitchen and the bird feeder should be disposed of correctly. Scattered morsels of food, including old hunks of cheese, bread crumbs, dumped veggies, or fruits, are one of the best ways you can hand out a free entry pass to these hungry rodents.

Sometimes, the strategy is to change the ingredients of the bird food instead of changing the positioning or location of the feeder itself, as Thomas Hibbert from the Wildlife Trust told The Mirror. For example, birds love sunflower and niger seeds, but most rodents are repelled by them. Another trick is to sprinkle scents that trigger the rodents to leave your territory. For instance, scents like Cayenne pepper, peppermint, and garlic are major triggers that make the rats run away from your garden at the speed of the wind. But there’s a catch, a sinister one. No strategy is permanent. Sooner or later, the ghosts will make way into your garden once again. So, whatever strategy you use to deal with them, ensure that you bring it into your regular practice.