Alan Titchmarsh has some key advice for gardeners (Image: Emma Peios, WireImagevia Getty Images)
Renowned gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh has revealed a crucial gardening task that could help rid your garden of rats this summer.
With the warmer weather, more of us are keen to make the most of the great outdoors.
There are countless joys associated with the summer months – from the abundance of flora and fauna coming to life, to barbecues and beer gardens, and the longer, brighter evenings that make relaxing in your own garden all the more pleasurable.
However, for some homeowners, their gardens are less of a tranquil, private retreat and more akin to a living nightmare, particularly if they find themselves dealing with unwanted intruders such as rats.
In the UK, there are two species of rats – the brown rat, also known as the common rat or the sewer rat, and the considerably rarer black rat, sometimes referred to as the ship rat.
Brown rats carry many diseases which they can spread to humans (Image: Getty Images)
Rat populations fluctuate considerably, but estimates suggest numbers could range anywhere from 10 million to more than 100 million.
Alan Titchmarsh has now offered his expert advice on how to keep rats away from your garden – including one essential lawn-care task that could help deter them.
In a video for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, the celebrated gardening authority began: “Of all the garden pests, the one that fills us with most horror and revulsion, generally, is the rat.
“I mean, you never know where they are, do you?” He described the “place they love more than anywhere else in the garden” as, naturally, the compost heap, “mainly because of the heat generated” by the “rotting vegetation”. To stop rats from treating your compost heap as their very own “central heated house”, the expert advised making sure the “structure is solid”.
In his own garden, he has “really strong wooden sides” on his unit, along with “steel sheeting right around the back”.
When it comes to your lawn, the gardening guru urged homeowners to keep their grass trimmed short. This may come as unwelcome news to some, as longer grass can provide a haven for wildlife.
However, Titchmarsh explained: “Rats are furtive. They like cover, they like shelter – they do not like close mown grass where they can be seen. They much prefer it longer.
“So, if you’ve got long grass everywhere, that gives them access. Just to get your mower out.
“Cut it short, have a stripe or two if you want, and that way you can see,” he gestured to the vast lawn surrounding him on screen. “Look, no rats.”
Naturally, this approach may also discourage other species from flourishing in your garden. Allowing grass to grow slightly longer creates an immediate habitat supporting ground-nesting insects by offering them somewhere to shelter, as well as refuge for other insects.
Longer grass also retains moisture more effectively, while certain unwanted weeds such as dandelions provide a vital food source for emerging spring insects, provided they aren’t cut down prematurely. Ultimately, it comes down to individual choice – and the extent of your rat problem.
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