You certainly don’t want them in your house, but do you want them in your garage? They’re rats, and whether they’re inside your home or inside your garage, they’re a big problem. Learning how to keep them out means avoiding serious infestation.
Why Your Garage?
Infesting your house makes a bit of sense. It’s warm, there’s an easy food supply, and there are ample places to hide. Few people think about rats in the garage, though. The simple truth is that whether it’s your home, a garage, or an outdoor shed, rats will be happy to take up residence. Wondering why? It’s simple, really. Any outbuilding gives rats a natural shelter, and in the case of a garage or a shed, probably a good bit of privacy too and a far smaller chance of being discovered. After all, how frequently do you head to the shed? It’s probably less frequently than you walk through the house. Your garage may also provide a good food source. If you keep bird food or pet food out there, the rats will happily eat that.
What Can You Do?
There are a number of things you can do to keep rats out of the garage. Some of the advice that holds true for your home is also true for your garage as well. Start by keeping the food sources out. If you keep bird or pet food, make sure they’re in hard plastic. Keep a lid on any trash cans you have in the garage. You should also keep any stored items in plastic containers instead of cardboard containers, as cardboard can actually provide a source of food for rats. Try to seal any openings you find around your garage too. You may want to stuff steel wool in the holes or gaps before you seal them. Keep trees and shrubs outside the garage trimmed back as much as possible. If you have a compost bin near the garage, be sure it’s well covered. You’ll also want to keep cut firewood well away from the garage to give rats less of a chance to hide. Finally, cleaning the garage out once in a while will also help to reduce the population.
Be sure that you watch for signs of a rodent infestation as well. If you see urine, droppings, or chew marks around your stored stuff, it’s time to start dealing with the problem. Not sure what you do if you do find evidence of rats? You can certainly set traps or use poison, but the single best thing to do is call a professional pest control company to help. They can locate the nest and eliminate the rats in a safe, eco-friendly manner. Your garage will be rodent-free, and you won’t have to worry about infestation any longer.