Rats; One of the less-than desirable sides of homesteading and farming that doesn’t get talked about much. While there are many conventional methods for getting rats off your property, these typically include finicky rat traps that seldom work, or poisons that can be highly harmful to your family and pets/livestock. Luckily, there are some recipes out there for all-natural rat “poisons”. But really, these two recipes I’m sharing aren’t even poisonous, there’s just one natural ingredient in each recipe that is highly deadly to rats! Keep reading to find out what they are.
Why I Starting Using All-Natural Rat “Poison”
I have been using these two recipes interchangeable for many years with great success. After trying conventional methods for getting rid of rats with no success, this method is how I finally got rid of them and got my home back from the rats.
I knew I had to try to find a better way, one that wouldn’t be harmful or dangerous to my pets, and something that would actually work. That’s when I discovered some recipes using 100% natural ingredients. Over the years I have tweaked these recipes to come up with my own that works every time. I leave my all-natural rat “poison” out at night, and every single one is gone by the next morning. And within a week or less, I start to notice the deceased rats.
When I first started renting my house It was infested with rats due to the extremely unsanitary living conditions of the previous tenants. When I say “infested” I mean it. I’m talking rats running through my house in the middle of the night, dozens living in my drop ceilings, finding their way into my dressers and ripping apart my clothes, getting into everything in my cabinets, and even living under the glass top of my kitchen stove. I remember a time when I lifted up the glass top on my stove and rats literally jumping out of it in the middle of the day. It was exhausting living like this. So, I started looking at my options.
First Try: Rat Traps
I used rat traps for a bit with very little success. The rats would take the bait without setting off the traps, I was nervous setting them so I had to have my dad come do it for me (not really ideal.) And lastly, I was very limited on where I could put them because I was worried my dog would get into them an get hurt.
Second Try: d-CON
Next try, conventional rat poisons such as d-CON, I started using these during my first winter living in my home. Due to the amount of snow we get in New Hampshire, I couldn’t put these outside at the time. They would just get lost in the snow and I was worried another animal would come across them. Besides, the rats were infested inside my house, not outside. Again, I was extremely nervous for the short period that I used these. My dog is very inquisitive and finds his way into everything. So, again I was very limited on where I could put these. Another potential issue, I was worried a rat would grab a bait from the area I left it, and drop it in another area where my dog could get ahold of it.
Why Can’t My Livestock Just Coexist With The Rats?
This may seem like a silly question to include, but some folks may not truly be aware of all the dangers and risks associated with rats mingling with livestock and pets. In a perfect world all things would be friends and live in harmony, but unfortunately a perfect word doesn’t exist. And it is unfortunate that they need to be exterminated when they find their way onto your property, but it is what’s safest for your family and livestock.
They multiply. Fast. A female rat typically births six litters every year,with as many as 12 babies per litter. Meaning that a population can growfrom two ratsto around 1,250 in one year.
Rats can carry bacteria and viruses that could make your family and livestock extremely sick. Rats can carry Leptospirosis, Hantavirus, LCMV and Salmonella, among other diseases directly transmitted by rats.
Most rats carry fleas, which they could spread to your dogs, cats, and pet rodents. Additionally, those fleas could potentially carry diseases.
Rats are extremely destructive and will chew holes through bags of feed and minerals and cost you large sums of money.
They will steal eggs from your flock and produce from your gardens.
They could inflict injury upon your animals. I remember growing up and having a goat my family didn’t know was bred, have her baby in the middle of the night. When we found the baby the next morning a rat had been eating her alive. In my family’s 10+ years of farming something like this has only happened that one time. But knowing that it can happen makes me really not want them hanging around my animals.
How Does All-Natural Rat Poison Work?
Recipe number 1: The active ingredient in this rat bait is baking soda. The way this works is because the bicarbonate in the baking soda will react with the rat’s stomach acid. This will create carbon dioxide. Since rats are not able to pass gas, it will just build up within their digestive system. Eventually, it will cause a rupture or blockage.
Recipe number 2: The active ingredient in this recipe is plaster of Paris. The way this ingredient works is when it is ingested by the rats and combines with the stomach fluids, it will harden inside their gastrointestinal tracts, causing them to die.
Both recipes use sugar, which will help attract and entice the rats to eat it.
How To Use All-Natural Rat “Poison”
Rats are creatures of habit, they tend to stick to certain areas and paths and. When I use my all-natural rat “poison” I like to walk around and note where I see the most activity. Look for things like underground holes with fresh, exposed dirt, rat droppings, scratch marks in dirt, etc. I like to find a few areas like this and this is where I leave my bait. Also, rather than scattering my bait individually, I like to leave mine in piles of 3-5. This way it’s easier for the rats to find.
How To Make All-Natural Rat “Poison”
All-Natural Rat “Poison” Recipe Number 1:
There’s no need to wear gloves for any part of the process, I never do and the rats still take my bait no problem!
Ingredients:
- 2 packets of instant oatmeal. Off-brand or the stuff that’s been sitting in the back of your cupboard for 3 years is fine, the rats don’t have a preference as far as I know. Any flavor works but I typically stay away from cinnamon, and use maple and brown sugar for mine.
- 1 cup baking soda.
- `1/2 cup granulated sugar.
- 1/2 cup yogurt. Again, any flavor is fine but I typically use my homemade raw milk yogurt because it’s all that I use on my homestead!
Materials:
- Mixing bowl
- Baking sheet, paper plate or regular plate.
Directions:
Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine the 2 packets of instant oatmeal, 1 cup of baking soda, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Mix well to combine.
Step 2: Add in the 1/2 cup of yogurt and mix well. The mixture should be fairly sticky, but not too sticky that it won’t stop sticking to your hands.
Step 3: Begin forming balls that are about the size of a quarter. It’s important not to make them so large that the rats are unable to take off with them. Place on a baking sheet, paper plate or something similar to harden for at least 3 hours. They will still be kind of sticky but that’s okay. This recipe yields about a dozen, quarter-sized balls. This recipe does not need to be exact, so if your mixture is too wet, add a bit more baking soda or some flour. And if it is too dry, add a bit more yogurt.
Step 4: I like to wait until night when the rats are most active to put out my all-natural rat poison. Then, I put them in the areas that I notice the rats are most active. For me it’s on my porch by my trashcan, in my basem*nt and along side my house. Wait a few days and you will start to see the results!
All-Natural Rat “Poison” Recipe 2:
There’s no need to wear gloves for any part of the process, I never do and the rats still take my bait no problem!
Ingredients:
- 2 packets of instant oatmeal. Off-brand or the stuff that’s been sitting in the back of your cupboard for 3 years is fine, the rats don’t have a preference as far as I know. Any flavor works but I typically stay away from cinnamon, and use maple and brown sugar for mine.
- 1 1/2 cups plaster of Paris. This can be found at most arts and crafts stores, hardware stores, and big box stores. I got mine right at Walmart.
- 1 cup granulated sugar.
- 2/3 cup yogurt. Again, any flavor is fine but I typically use my homemade raw milk yogurt because it’s all that I use on my homestead!
Materials:
- Mixing bowl
- Baking sheet, plate or paper plate.
Directions:
Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine the 2 packets of instant oatmeal, 1 1/2 cups of plaster of Paris, and 1 cup granulated sugar. Mix well to combine.
Step 2: Add in the 2/3 cup of yogurt and mix well. The mixture should be fairly sticky, but not too sticky that it won’t stop sticking to your hands. This recipe does not need to be exact, so if your mixture is too wet, add a bit more plaster of Paris. And if it is too dry, add a bit more yogurt.
Step 3: Begin forming balls that are about the size of a quarter. It’s important not to make them so large that the rats are unable to take off with them. Place on a baking sheet, paper plate or something similar to harden for at 2-4 hours. This recipe typically yields about 15-20 quarter-sized balls.
Step 4: I like to wait until night when the rats are most active to put out my all-natural rat poison. Then, I put them in the areas that I notice the rats are most active. For me it’s on my porch by my trashcan, in my basem*nt and along side my house. Wait a few days and you will start to see the results!
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