Do Rats Eat Succulents – 4 Tips On How To Avoid Rats Eating Your Succulents In The Best Way

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Last Updated on July 30, 2022 by Griselda M.

If you’re a fan of growing flowers in your garden, you may be wondering do rats eat succulents? Rats will eat pretty much anything, from plastic to poison, to car tires. And yes, sometimes they will nibble at your plants – including succulents. Find out what to do here.

Do Rats Eat Succulents?

It’s a fact of life: pests like rats and mice love to nibble on the green foliage of a garden full of plants. Whether the rodents are after your food or your pet’s favorite snack, rodents can wreak havoc on your garden and household. But if you know how to keep your plants safe, you can stop the rats and mice from ruining your garden and home.

In this article, we’re going to cover a few important things that you can do to keep your succulents safe from pesky rats, other rodents, as well as birds.

Avoiding rat problems – What rats can and cannot eat

Rats, in their natural habitat, are nocturnal feeders. They are creatures that eat seeds, nuts, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Rats also have a strong sense of smell and will find food quickly if you have rats in your home or store. If your house or store is infested with rodents, you should clean up any food sources that are accessible. This includes any pet food and any leftover food in your refrigerator or freezer.

Why Do Rats Eat Succulents?

Why rats eat succulents is a common question that comes up whenever people start growing their own produce. After all, why would a rat eat a plant that is so low to the ground and inaccessible for them to see? Well, the answer is pretty simple: Rats are omnivores. They eat just about anything that falls in their path.

And if you’re a gardener, you can tell that your succulents aren’t going to be very enticing to rats because they tend to stay pretty low to the ground, and they are also not very tasty to rodents. Rats however lack a sophisticated sense of taste – this is how we stop people from accidentally eating rat poison – bitter compounds are added to the poison that makes it unpalatable to humans and dogs, but rats can eat it. Many succulents try to discourage animals from eating them by producing bitter compounds. Rats are not too deterred by these.

 what is eating my succulents at night

A Safe Solution – Protecting Your Plants From Rats

Rats are generally an invasive pest in most of the world. They carry diseases that actually pose a direct threat to your life, and they can cause your house to burn down by causing electrical fires when they nibble wires.

Rats are also excellent snake food – if you have rats – you will soon have snakes. So get rid of the rats.

In this regard, I am very unsympathetic towards rat infestations and tend to take a dual-pronged approach. If you have a big infestation of rats, you will need to use a poison placed in bait stations. For the rest of the year keep a few rat traps around your garden. I keep two of these near my chicken coop – I bait them with apple cores, and generally when a rat problem begins to manifest you will start catching rats. Do not release the rats – they are a pest – shoot them, kill them or give them to somebody with snakes. If you cannot kill them, find somebody who will. We do not need more rats in the world. There are more than enough.

Read more about When Do Moles Come Out?

Rat Proofing Tips – How To Prevent Rats From Finding Your Plants

Rats are one of the most destructive animals on the planet. They can cause havoc by gnawing away at wood, causing electrical problems, and even destroying plants. Even worse, if they’re eating your plants, then they’ll be leaving behind some waste that could infect your home and potentially cause you to get sick.

As stated in the previous paragraph – prevention is better than cure – get rid of rats, and keep them from coming back by having traps to monitor their presence. When you start catching rats in the traps it is time to put poison out again.

Preventing Rats From Breaking Your Plants – How To Prevent Rats From Breaking Your Plants?

There are a lot of ways you can prevent rats from breaking your plants. There are even videos on YouTube that show how to trap rats, but the simplest solution is prevention. If you plant your houseplants outside, you can prevent rats from climbing up into your pots by covering the holes where they enter the soil with netting or wire mesh. You can also wrap the bottom of your pots in burlap or fabric, and put a plastic bag over the top apparently.

I read this on the internet – my personal experience is that this will do nothing – rather kill the rats.

Conclusion On The Question Do Rats Eat Succulents?

In conclusion, rats eat all kinds of plants and other small animals and can even eat fruits and vegetables if given a chance. Prevention is better than cure – keep rat populations low with poisons and traps and you will have a safe garden and a safe house.

For other garden-related topics, check our other articles. Thank you for reading!

FAQ

How do I keep rats from eating my succulents?

Rats will eat anything and everything. The best way to keep rats from eating your succulents is to get rid of the rats. Poison and traps are effective. A cat helps as well.

What are the signs of rats in the garden?

If you have rats around you will find that leaves and stems are gnawed and you will see rat droppings. If you go to the garden at night with a flashlight you will also see them scurrying around. The best time is about an hour or two after sunset.

What is eating my succulents at night?

Probably rats. There are many nocturnal creatures that can eat plants, but if the plant has gnaw marks on its leaves the chances are it is a rat.

What plants do rats eat?

As it turns out, rats are omnivores—that means they eat anything they can find. Rats will eat almost any plant material, including wood, paper, and even plastic. They are especially fond of plants that contain high-calorie foods, such as corn, sugar, and peanuts. Their diets can vary widely depending on what type of food is available, but all rodents are opportunistic feeders. I have seen them eat aloes, cacti and even peyote cacti. I am sure they had a good time after that.

Learn more about The Chart Types Of Succulents – How To Choose The Best Succulents?

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