Rats Cause Issues For Urban Gardeners In D.C.

For those who tend urban gardens, it is definitely a labor of love. Urban gardens might be a lot of work, but there is something satisfying about eating vegetables you grew with your own hands.

Whether you consume your own home-grown produce or sell it locally, rats can become a significant problem in your urban garden. Here are some issues they can cause and some things to keep in mind.

Urban Rats and Urban Gardens

• Rats don't just eat food after it has been packaged and stored. These rodents are omnivores that will eat any food that is available, even while it is still hanging from a vine.

• Rats are extremely hard to keep out. An adult rat can jump nearly 4 feet horizontally and almost 3 feet vertically. If you're trying to keep them out of your urban garden, you're going to have to do more than put up a one foot fence.

• Rats commonly invade gardens wherever they are. But, urban gardens must deal with rats that have had easy access to dumpsters, trash cans, compost, and other dirty things. Because of this, half eaten food may be the least of your issues. When rats crawl around in urban gardens, they can spread harmful bacteria. This bacterium can infect humans and cause many illnesses.

• Rats may eat other things when they come to investigate your urban garden. They can get into food provided for wild birds and keep the birds away that would help to naturally deal with damaging caterpillars.

• Rats don't just eat your food and spread disease, they can also do damage when they burrow in soil. A rat burrow can be up to six feet deep with an entrance and an exit hole, and may contain as many as eight rats.

• If you have a compost area that has had rats burrowing in it, be sure to refrain from using that compost on fruits or vegetables that are going to be eaten raw or that have edible parts that touch the soil.

When rats invade your urban garden it can drive you to do desperate things to get rid of them. We understand. But, with help from an educated professional, you can protect your garden, and yourself, from these dirty invaders, and make it a much nicer garden to tend.

If you would like help protecting your D.C. garden, American Pest can dispatch a highly trained specialist to do a thorough inspection and tailor a rodent control solution specifically for your needs.

There is simply no better way to control rats in the D.C. area. These are tenacious and resourceful pests. Get the best control possible with American Pest.