Reports suggest that the army could be deployed to Birmingham to help tackle the mounting piles of rubbish left by the bin strikes.
Uncollected rubbish presents a risk of widespread rodent infestations, with many in Birmingham fearing that rats and mice could enter their property.
However, there are steps that can be taken to fight back against rodents seeking to enter your home.
Alastair Mayne, Chief Operating Officer at Garolla has offered his key tips on how to deter them in the safest way possible:
- Use natural repellents: If you’re wanting an easy way to discourage pests from your home, you can use different essential oils or ingredients to deter them. For example, rats hate the smell of peppermint oil, vinegar, and garlic. Scattering black pepper around entry points to your property will also irritate their noses and stop them from entering. Mosquitos and flies can be repelled by citronella or lemongrass. This way, you’re not hurting the pests invading your property, but you are repelling them so strongly that they’re unlikely to return.
- Seek out entry points: If rats and pests are getting into your property, one of the first things you should do is to find the source of the entry, and seal it tightly, so that they cannot re-enter. You can do this with mesh, screens, or sealant. It’s also important to keep an eye on vents, or cracks under doors, as most pests, especially rats and mice, are small enough to fit in the tiniest of spaces.
- Declutter your space: Clutter is the perfect home for a rat, especially in a garage where you might be keeping furniture, boxes, or debris. By getting rid of clutter in your home or garage, you’re eliminating potential nests for rats, meaning there is less place for them to hide or set up home.
- Clean regularly: Not only important for house hygiene, but cleaning your property regularly ensures that rats and pests won’t see it as a desirable home. Things like spills, rubbish, or odours can attract rats. Even things you might not immediately think of as being an issue, like not cleaning your pets’ food and water bowls every day, can lure pests into your home. By taking the rubbish out and securing it safely in a bin, cleaning any spillages, and wiping down surfaces, you’re creating a clean environment that has little attraction for pests.
- Be wary of water: Rats love water and are attracted to damp, dark places, like basements or garages. Like all creatures, they also require drinking sources, and have been known to look for leaky pipes, birdbaths, and drains. If your property has any leaky drainpipes, consider getting them fixed as soon as possible, to avoid rats infiltrating the piping.