Rats and mice are not just pests that harm your garden plants, they can also introduce harmful pathogens to your garden. One such example is salmonellosis, a disease that can be transmitted through rat faeces found in or near vegetable gardens.
When infected rats leave droppings in your garden, the bacteria can be spread to plants through watering, leading to the contamination of vegetables like lettuce, spinach, and herbs. Ingesting these contaminated foods can result in severe symptoms such as diarrhoea and stomach cramps within just three days.
Luckily Misses T, whose TikTok account is dedicated to gardening-related things, has shared how you can deter rats and mice from your plants, reports the Express. "To deter rats and mice out of the garden try this," she began in a TikTok video. "Mix a strong solution of peppermint and citronella oil with cinnamon powder and water."
"You can add vinegar but this may hurt some plants so be careful." "Spray around areas you want to deter them from every few days and after a rain."
Grateful viewers of the video left comments on the helpful TikTok upload. One person wrote: "Gonna try this not only for the garden but our chicken coop/run. Mint alone doesn't deter the rascals."
With a tip, another said: "Careful if you have outside cats, peppermint is not good for them." Another person pointed out: "The common ingredient in a lot of these recipes is peppermint oil. Very cheap and effective."
