Rats in the Attic

Rat Repellent

The best "repellent" available, when it comes to rats in the attic, is heavy steel screen and metal flashing, to seal their entry holes shut!

But sprays and pellets and machines? Use them if you want to waste time.

Rat Repellent - Deterrent Products and Devices

When it comes to powders, granules, sprays and stuff you can buy at Home Depot or online, in my 15+ years as a wildlife removal professional, I have seen it all: attics filled with strobing lights, blaring radios, ultrasonic sound machines, natural remedies like peppermint, and every type of over-the-counter repellent, from coyote urine flakes, to ammonia, to the end-all-be-all el cheapo scam, mothballs. I once went into an attic in which a desperate old lady had dumped close to 100 lbs. of mothballs in her attic. The rats didn't care! Here's the problem with repellents in general: once a rat lives in your attic, and has a nest of babies there, that's it. That's the only option for survival. There is no device, no repellent that will make them leave. Go ahead and buy a rat repellent at Home Depot, or a rat deterrent device online - waste your time. But they have zero demonstrated effectiveness.

However, if you want to keep rats out of your attic, there's a GREAT repellent - home repair products! Heavy-gague steel mesh, metal flashing, and other repair materials which are resistant to rat chewing. Inspect the house to find the entry holes, and seal them shut. 100% guaranteed repellent! But if you already have rats in your attic, there's no product or device that will make them leave. Luckily, the problem is just as easy to solve with repairs and exclusion doors as it is with a applying a repellent. Do it the right way and get your rat problem solved. Learn more about proper rat prevention with home repairs, and following that, the correct methods for rat trapping to get rid of them for good.

Rat Repellent - Deterrent Products and Devices

Moth Balls, or Other Products

A gimmick meant to take your money, but worst of all, waste your time. These won't solve the problem, which will only get worse while you wait.

High Pitch Sound Machine

These products are sold everywhere, and emit high-frequency sound. They are so fraudulent the FTC has issued a warning about them as a consumer product.

Repairs - True Repellent!

Buy some proper materials and seal shut the entry holes, with professional grade repairs, and that's the most effective repellent you can buy!

Clean the Attic

The scent of rats that have already lived in your attic will attract new rats. The phermones in the feces, urine, etc. Cleaning is good repellent.

Rat Repellent Reviews

Mothballs: 0/5 STARS Mothballs or mothball flakes, sometimes mixed with coyote urine or other ingredients, is the most common repellent - cheap to make. But zero effectiveness on rat behavior. And a known environmental toxin and carcinogen to boot! Wow! That's my mothball rat repellent review.

Ammonia: 0/5 STARS Ammonia has a strong odor, like mothballs. But in an attic, which is ventilated, the smell just kind of wafts away. Rats aren't going to leave the attic and go outside to die just because of a smell that may not even reach their nose! C'mon.

Strobing Lights: 0/5 STARS These flashing light machines for rats are commonly sold by enthusiastic marketers, but I've been in attics with several of these installed, and the rats don't care. They can easily go do dark areas, down in eaves and soffits, or behind beams and insulation. Or maybe they just don't care about flashing lights at all. They don't work. That's my flashing light rat repellent review.

Sound Machines: 0/5 STARS Same as with the lights or the odor, they are able to go to places in the attic where the effect is less, and/or they just don't care. A rat is not going to let her young die just because of a sound or light or smell! That's my sound machine rat repellent review - but you don't have to take my word for it. Look up what the FTC has to say about these fraudulent devices.

Peppermint: 0/5 STARS I like the fact that this is a natural rat repellent, that is homemade and toxin-free, but unfortunately, it just doesn't work. In fact, I have succesfully used peppermint and spearmint leaves as rat bait to catch them! They are attracted to it, if anything!

Home Repairs: 5/5 STARS Bravo! The winner! Just find the entry holes the rats are using to get into your house, seal them shut with metal repairs, and you have a 100% effective, PERMANENT rat repellent solution.

Information About Rat Repellents

Will repellents get a rat out of the attic? Owning your own home can be one of the greatest joys that life has to offer. It is such a beautiful thing to be able to put any tack or nail on any wall you want, to paint anywhere you want, or we arrange the property in any way you see fit. It is the ultimate dream come true.

Unfortunately, that dream can become a nightmare when you discover that a horrific creature like a rat or a group of rats has made their home within your home. When they are in the walls of your home or hiding behind your refrigerator they are a lot easier for you to be able to find and get rid of, but what about when they are in your attic?

You may not even know that rats are in your attic until long after they have made a large colony there. If you are like most people, you probably will rarely go into your attic and all. It is just around that most people don’t go to except for to put items into store. This is why the rats like it so much; they know that they can live their pretty much undisturbed by any human beings.

If you find that there are a large number of rats in your attic one of the options that people may try to persuade you to use are repellants. The logic behind this seems sound. You place these commercial repellants like moth balls around your attic, the rats don’t like the smell and taste of them and so they flee. At least that is what the theory is.

But less talk about the reality for a moment, most of these commercial repellants have a limited effectiveness to them. What that means is that they may work for a time that the rats will eventually get used to them. What they may simply do is move to a different portion of your attic until the effect wears off. Most likely you do not have the financial means to have a repellant in every inch of your attic, so this becomes a waste of your money.

There is also the concern that if you scare them away from your attic where are they going to go? It’s not like they’re going to pack up and move to your neighbor’s home most likely they will simply move to a new roman your house. That’s not an appealing option either.

The Bottom Line

Do rat repellents work? NO! Luckily, the problem is easy to solve with repairs and exclusion, which is a permanent solution - and the only effective one, unlike a applying a repellent. Do it the right way and get your rat problem solved.