How to Use Ammonia To Get Rid of Rats
The very idea of seeing a rat on your property is enough to make most people’s skin crawl. Seeing one inside your house is an entirely different matter. Most people have an aversion to rodents to begin with. That’s enough to make you want to get rid of these pests in and of itself. The thing is, having a rat inside your home is a lot worse than having a mouse or two. Rats can be a lot more dangerous because they have just as much potential to carry disease, yet they don’t tend to be as afraid of humans or pets as mice. As a result, it’s much easier for individuals who come into contact with them to be bitten or scratched. These bites can transmit all kinds of diseases and they can also transmit bacteria that can easily cause a nasty infection. Rats are also harder to kill because of their sheer size. Perhaps the truly scary thing is that where there is one, you can almost bet that there are more. If you see one and it’s in your house, you’ve probably got at least a few of them running around that you haven’t seen. Clearly, this is something that requires immediate intervention, before the situation gets worse than it already is. The question is, how are you supposed to get rid of them? Sure, you could call an exterminator and they could put some poison down or you could simply set out some rat poison on your own. If you have children or pets, these are probably the last two things you want to do. As it turns out, you might be able to get rid of them using ammonia. Keep reading to find out how.
The Basics About Using Ammonia to Repel Rats
If you plan on using ammonia to repel rats, there are a few things that you should know. First and foremost, be warned that this technique doesn’t always work. Its overall effectiveness will likely be determined by the level of infestation you are experiencing and how thorough you are as you go through the process. The first thing you need to do is figure out where the rats are coming into your home. This can be a lot easier said than done, so if you have an idea, concentrate on those areas. If you don’t, you’re going to have to do some very thorough searching in order to figure it out or you’re not going to have much luck with this or any other technique. Once you have sorted out where they’re getting in, do your best to block off the area so that additional rats can’t get inside your home. Once you’ve accomplished that goal, It’s time to decide on the best method for putting some ammonia down. You can take a plastic cup and fill it with equal parts ammonia and water, setting it out in the area where the rats have been getting in. Keep this in mind. Ammonia is very harmful to children and pets so if you have any pets that you think will drink this water, do not use this method. Even if it’s in an area that’s difficult for them to get to, assume that they will find a way and do something different. As an alternative, you might try soaking rags in ammonia and then placing them in the areas where the rats have been getting in, being sure to place them securely out of reach of pets and children. You’ll need to go back every week or two and apply new rags. Otherwise, the smell will dissipate and they’ll lose their effectiveness.
Protect the Outside of Your House, Too
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that in order to be truly effective, you need to treat not only the inside of your home, but also the outside. This can be accomplished by using the method with the rags that was mentioned in the above paragraph or you can put containers of ammonia and water in strategic locations outside your home. Again, understand that any animal that drinks this, including dogs and cats, can potentially be harmed by it. If you’re not comfortable with that idea, consider pouring some ammonia directly around the perimeter of your home’s foundation. The liquid itself will soon dissipate, but the smell tends to stick around and that is what repels the rats. Again, you’ll have to do this every week or two in order for it to remain effective. That said, it might be the safest option for you, especially if you’re not keen on leaving bowls of the stuff sitting around your property.
Long-Term Effectiveness
Some people actually recommend putting equal parts ammonia and water in a bowl and then adding a couple of tablespoons of detergent for good measure. The idea is that it is supposed to scare rats away from your home and keep them away for two or three weeks. However, you’re not likely to experience long-term effectiveness with this method unless you’re absolutely diligent about replacing either the bowls or the ammonia-soaked rags every couple of weeks at the most. If you don’t have the time or the patience for such things, this might be something you can do in an emergency so that you can then go on to find other, more permanent methods of keeping rats out of your home after the fact. At the end of the day, you want to keep rats and other pests out of your home and off your property. The most effective way to do this is to make sure that you don’t have a lot of clutter around your property and that your home is well-kept. Don’t leave food out that could potentially call them, including food for your pets. If you do find that you have a problem, it’s probably a good idea to call an exterminator and explain that you don’t want to use a lot of potentially harmful chemicals if at all possible. This may be something that you can employ in the interim until those measures begin to take hold. While ammonia will not solve the problem permanently, it does give you one more tool to work with and when you’re dealing with rodents coming into your home, you’ll need every tool available to you in order to get rid of them.
