Peter Dowdall urged households to prioritise one key thing over quick fixes to keep rats out of gardens.Liam McInerney and Ambarish Awale Trainee Trends, Showbiz and Lifestyle Writer
19:38, 04 May 2026
One simple tip can help keep rats out of gardens(Image: Getty Images)
As warmer spring weather encourages more time outdoors, concerns about rats in gardens are once again coming to the fore, with one experienced horticulturist warning that prevention comes down to a simple but often overlooked factor.
Peter Dowdall, known as The Irish Gardener, has urged households to focus on cleanliness rather than quick fixes, explaining that rodents are far more common than many people realise, Mirror reports.
He said: “Rats, it comes down to, and it’s not a miracle thing, but if you want the proper answer to it, rats are in probably 100% of gardens and they come out at night time when they are not seen and the garden is quiet.
“It is all about making sure you are not giving them a reason to stay in your garden, that you are not giving them a reason to nest, it comes down to a lot of hygiene really.”
Peter Dowdall said rats are common in most gardens and can be kept away by maintaining good hygiene rather than relying on quick fixes.(Image: Getty Images)
With more than 30 years of experience working in gardens across Ireland, Dowdall said the key to keeping rats away lies in removing the essentials they rely on, particularly food, water and shelter.
He warned that one of the most common mistakes is disposing of food waste incorrectly, which can quickly attract rodents and encourage them to settle nearby.
He explained: “Never throw cooked food waste into an open compost bin because that will draw rats.
“If you give them a food source, a water source, and somewhere safe to nest, then they will stay, so it is all about cleanliness in the garden really in terms of hygiene.
“Not leaving stuff that would be attracted to rats and nesting sites and food sources. If you can make sure you are not leaving them in the garden, then that’s as much as you can do really against rats.”
He said throwing away food waste incorrectly can attract rats and make them settle nearby.(Image: Getty Images)
Dowdall’s advice comes at a time when garden centres are seeing increased footfall, as people look to improve their outdoor spaces during the spring months. However, he cautioned that enthusiasm for gardening can sometimes lead to environmentally harmful choices.
He highlighted what he described as a widely used but problematic lawn care product, often marketed as a convenient all in one solution.
He explained: “When it comes to the lawn, I would imagine that one of the best selling products in garden centres at this time of year is what is called the triple action products which are bags of lawn feed with the moss killer and the weed killer built in.
“They are very ecologically damaging. It is like blanket bombing your lawn. So, you are feeding the grass which is grand, but you are also applying chemical moss killers and chemical weed killers to the lawn, many in areas that don’t need it.
“They don’t have weeds or moss so you are just blanket bombing it.”
He stressed that the environmental impact extends beyond unnecessary chemical use, warning that these products may also pose risks in domestic settings.
Dowdall added that applying treatments to lawns where they are not needed, particularly in spaces used by families, raises concerns about exposure.
He said the use of chemicals on grass where children are likely to play should be carefully considered, particularly when the issue being treated may not be present in the first place.
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