If you’re looking for an affordable way to keep rodents at bay, there’s a simple trick you can try at home. The simple plant could help keep mice and rats away for good
Now is the time of year when rats can enter our homes, as they seek shelter from the colder weather; however, there’s a simple way you can work to try and keep them out. The pests may be hunting for food and somewhere cosy to hibernate, but you can take action to help prevent them from visiting your garden.
According to Kris, known as PermacultureFX on TikTok, a simple plant can be used to deter rats and mice. The edible landscape design guru, who shares all sorts of gardening tips online, said the trick works wonders if you’re looking for an easy way to monitor pest control.
Kris said it’s a great plant to place near animal feed and bird storage areas, or anywhere that may usually draw in rats. Little you may know, there are all sorts of things in your garden that can attract them.
In the clip, Kris said: “I’m going to share with you this plant that we started using around our feed shed that is completely eradicating rats and mice. This is gold.
“It’s a low growing ground cover called panadol. It smells a little bit, but it has some great other medicinal properties. It’s very highly scented, and it literally just keeps the rats and the mice at bay. A really fast growing ground cover.”
If you haven’t heard of it before, you can grow panadol in the UK. What you need to know is it requires protection from frost, as it isn’t a winter-hardy plant.
Sometimes it may need to be cultivated in a container or sheltered in the soil. The plant, which is a variety of Plectranthus, is a fragrant herb renowned for its medicinal qualities and capacity to ward off pests, although this hasn’t been scientifically verified.
The plant, which is also called Plectranthus caninus, is thought to discourage rats because of its intense, sharp smell. Numerous individuals claim that positioning it around locations such as feed stores or fruit trees helps to ward off rodents including mice, rats, snakes and squirrels.
The aroma is only discharged when the foliage is handled, but the plant is reported to be a rapidly-spreading ground cover with potent pest-deterring characteristics. If you wish to discourage pests, it can be positioned around the bottom of trees or shrubs, or as ground cover surrounding buildings like feed stores, to establish a protective barrier.
In the comments, one person said: “Is it also known as the scaredy cat plant? I have the same thing growing to try and deter feral cats.”
Nevertheless, when you purchase it, there are some factors you must consider. If you acquire the plant online from beyond the UK, you must guarantee it possesses the correct phytosanitary certificates, particularly if ordering from outside the EU.
However, purchasing it from a UK supplier will make this procedure far easier. Additionally, there is a possibility people with allergies might experience a reaction to the plant and it could cause skin irritation.
If pets consume it, it can also be harmful as the plant’s essential oils can cause gastrointestinal distress and other symptoms. The level of toxicity will depend on the amount ingested.
There are also some other plants you might want to consider if you’re looking to deter rats. You could try any type of mint, amaryllis, sweet pea, lavender, daffodils, wood hyacinth (or squill), grape hyacinth, alliums, catnip, camphor plant, elderberry, euphorbias or wormwood.
Oak and bay leaves are also believed to repel rodents. In short, there are a few different strategies you can experiment with.
