Rats and mice unfortunately do not hibernate in winter like many other garden pests.
During the cold months rats and mice are in search of warm places where they can find shelter and protection from predators.
Outdoors, these rodents tend to burrow into the ground to rest or bear their young.
To avoid rats and mice infiltrating your garden, plant retailer David’s Garden Seeds has shared a few plants that “can actually repel rodents from the garden”.
The first type of plants rats and mice “do not like” are herbs. The retailer suggested planting herbs around the garden “sort of like a protective wall to repel”.
Herbs that have the strongest smells such as mint (especially peppermint), catnip, rosemary, sage, lavender, oregano, and basil are “the most effective plants at keeping these unwelcome creatures away”.
Herbs have a strong aroma which, while pleasant for humans, is overwhelming for rodents like rats and mice.
Many gardeners also opt for placing sage around the plants that are being targeted, creating an effective yet hugely affordable barrier.
For those who choose to plant sage in their garden, this is one of the more versatile plants, which means it will happily grow in any soil type so long as it is exposed to the sun.
In terms of blooming garden plants, rats and mice are not fans of marigolds and painted daisies, so it’s worth planting them around the borders of gardens.
Rodents “hate the strong smell of garlic”. Gardeners can get some garlic bulbs and plant them now until spring in their garden to keep rodents away.
Another garlic tip is to chop the garlic finely and boil in water. Then strain the garlic pieces out and put the garlic water in a spray bottle.
Spray the bottoms of plants to keep the rodents away and spread chopped garlic around the outside of the garden.
The best benefit of using garlic spray is that it means not using other, more toxic pesticides in the garden.
