The Top 3 Smells That Rats Hate Most

Rat is an amazing creature, regardless of how they might become unwelcome guests once finding the way into your house. Besides their intelligence, they are known as an agile pest with some excellent abilities like jump, hike and swim.

Rats might have poor vision, but they have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell and will use it for many purposes, such as detecting potential food sources from a distance as well as communicating with other rats.

With this fact, people might think to make use of certain smells that keep rats away. But then this brings up the question “What smell do rats hate the most?”. However, one thing for certain is there’s no reasonable way you can to keep the rats away just only using certain scents.

Keep on reading to know three scents most people believe that are supposed to have bad effects on rats sensitive smell sense. Find the reason why some of these certain scents will not act as effective rat prevention in the long term.

What smell do rats hate the most?

Although the efficacy is often debated, yet many people still believe there are several smells that keep rats away.

Here are the top 3 list of smells that supposedly keep rats away:

1. Mothballs
2. Garlic
3. Peppermint oil

If you’re using one of them, it’s the right time to reveal the truth about whether or not rats can be repelled by these particular smells from plants and other substances.

Mothballs

Do rats hate mothballs?

The main reason why many people try to use mothballs to keep rats away is that it contains active ingredients called naphthalene. Naphthalene ingredients in mothballs which have been widely used for many years as a deterrent for fabric pests like moth or silverfish. But we can assure you that using mothballs as rat repellent is simply ineffective.

Many people believe that placing a few grains of mothballs near to the rat nest entrance can help to eliminate existing rat problems. In fact, the level of naphthalene in a mothball is very small enough to efficiently keep rats away.

However, you should keep in mind that a rat is a sneaky smart pest. If they feel bothered to the smell of mothballs on their nest entrance, they will be soon looking for new access.

Garlic

Do rats hate garlic?

Garlic is one of the popular natural remedies that many people use to keep any kinds of pests like mosquitoes or flies away, but unfortunately not for rats.

The reason why garlic is assumed to be a good rat repellent is that garlic has a strong aroma, which can make any rats will not come near. What you have to do is sprinkle garlic powder or garlic cloves and place it on the path usually traversed by rats or products you want to protect.

Why is garlic as rat repellent is not efficient? First, there is no scientific evidence on the effect of garlic on a rat. Second, although rats will choose to go away for a while from an area or object with a strong smell; they will return back once they have already gotten used to those pungent smells. After all, no one wants to smell garlic inside the house all day long, making this scenting solution not practical as people thought.

Peppermint oil

Do rats hate peppermint oil?

If you think that rats hate the smell of peppermint, then you’re completely wrong. Peppermint oil certainly will make your whole house smell great, but it doesn’t mean that it will make a great rat repellent.

The reason why many people use peppermint oil as a rat repellent is because in high concentrations peppermint can be quite powerful to distract the rat's sensitive smell sense.

However, you have to keep in mind that rats live and nest in numerous places around your house; without exception the stinky sewage system. Thus, it completely doesn’t make sense if you’re able to make the sewer have a great smell of peppermint oil that rats don’t like all the time.

Additionally, like other types of essential oil, peppermint oil will also eventually evaporate when exposed to air. Thus, although it might be possible to keep rats away with peppermint oil for a while at the beginning, the strong smell of peppermint oil will slowly disappear over time. This pesky critter has a good reason to return back to your home once the smell disappears.

How to keep rats away?

Many home remedies look appealing mostly because they look easy and inexpensive. However, home remedies are not a long-term solution, especially if you have a severe rat problem at home.

Beyond everything, when it comes to repelling rats at home the best course of treatment is prevention. There are two simple things you can do to secure your home and prevent any unwanted guests at bay.

1. Regular home repair and maintenance

The best way to protect your home from rats is to make regular repairs to both exterior and interior damage. By keeping your home structure in good condition you will also prevent rats from finding easy access to your home.

Regular repair and maintenance including sealing any holes and cracks which often become the main access to rats entering your home.

2. Keep your house clean

You must always maintain the cleanliness of the house because rats are attracted to poor sanitation in living conditions. As previously mentioned, rats have a good sense of smell, so always keeping your food in a sealed container is one of the examples to make your house less attractive to rats.

Getting Rid of Rats with Rentokil's professional treatment

If the rodent problem grows significantly, or your working site is exposed to obvious rat infestation, it is time to get rid of obsolete rat trap. Contact us to know more about our innovative Ekomille rodent control system. It is non-toxic, eco-friendly, odor-free and incredibly effective compared with other solutions. 

At Rentokil, our qualified local service technicians are backed by global knowledge and innovation. If you have spotted signs of a rat infestation, such as droppings or an unpleasant urine smell, it is time to get professional treatment. 

Rentokil Hong Kong provides comprehensive rat pest control solution. 

Call Rentokil today at +85229546888 for your home and business premises and we will be determined to arrange a site inspection. Alternatively, you can drop us an enquiry online.