Four plants that instantly send rats running out of your garden
Rats in your yard and garden is a worrying sight because not only will they eat your plants, they also have the potential to get into your home.
That makes pest deterrents an important addition to your garden, but that doesn't just mean setting up traps you can also use plants to keep the critters away.
Pest control experts at Buzz Boss told The Express there are several plants that will make rats "scurry away immediately" and keep them away from your home.
READ MORE: A $5.50 party buy could save your plants getting destroyed by pests
Rats are bad news in the garden. Getty
Lavender
Many people love the smell of lavender, a herb that instantly makes any space feel like a cottage garden, but rats hate it.
That means adding the plant to your garden has the added benefit of keeping rats and other pests like mosquitoes away.
Lavender can be planted during autumn or spring in both garden beds, pots or the ground.
Chrysanthemums
This gorgeous flowering plant blooms beautifully in autumn in Australia and can be found in a colour, size and style to suit any garden.
The high pyrethrin content in chrysanthemums makes them a great rat repellant as it is a natural insecticide toxic to rats and other pests.
These pretty flowers are a popular plant gifted to mums on Mother's Day. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Onions
Sulphur compounds, the very same part of the onion that makes us cry when we chop them, also irritates the eyes and noses of rats.
Onions also contain allicin, a compound that causes anemia and oxygen deprivation in rats when ingested.
This vegetable is grown from seed and planting times vary in Australia, with some varieties sown in autumn while others are better in early spring.
Black pepper
Black pepper is actually grown on a vine like this. Getty Images/iStockphoto
It's not the most common backyard plant you'd think to grow, but the vine has a unique look and produces versatile berries.
Black pepper is good for repelling rats because it contains the piperine compound. This stimulates rats' pain receptors and makes them sneeze and cough, leading them to run off quickly.
The subtropical vine grows in part-shade and loves humidity, so if you live somewhere that has frost it should be grown in a greenhouse or indoors.
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