Aim for a woodland garden where everything is in balance

Attracting rats and mice to your backyard is without a doubt the biggest reason most people give up feeding backyard birds, or worse, choose to not even begin feeding backyard birds for fears of attracting the rodents.

The problem is not feeding the birds, the real issue is feeding the rats on the ground under the bird feeders or, even worse, allowing mice and rats access to the feed on a feeding table or on your feeders.

I am happy to say that in the 20 plus years we have lived here, I have only seen two rats in the woodland garden. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of mice I have seen in the garden as well.

And, I have fed the birds since the day we moved here. I think setting up the bird feeders was actually one of my first jobs on moving day.

Creating a functioning natural woodland garden where nature is in balance will help to keep rodent infestations in check. Eliminating predators, for example, is a sure way to invite problems.

(Be sure to check out my article on The urban fox and how it controls rodents like mice and rats.) Be sure to check out my post on setting up a Bird Feeding Pole.

It’s important to understand that rats and mice are primarily night-time ground feeders. Our job is to ensure that there is no birdseed or even shells left on the ground in the evening to attract rats and mice. Also proper baffles will help keep rats and mice from getting to your feeders.

Seed cylinders are one of the ways to keep access seed from falling to the ground where mice and rats can get to it. I use a screen under the seed cylinder to catch any seed the woodpeckers might knock off and not eat.

Six ways to keep mice and rats away from bird feeders

Use a single pole system that includes several baffles including a large racoon/squirrel baffle to keep squirrels off of the bird feeders and force them to clean up whatever feed falls to the ground.
Place the pole in an area where squirrels or rats cannot jump to it from nearby trees, fences or other structures. Obviously we don’t want rats to have direct access to the feeders, but squirrels will often throw out a lot of food onto the ground if they get direct access to the feeders.
Use a no-mess, high quality bird food and seed cylinders to ensure there is no waste at the end of the day gathering on the ground.
Always use a screened seed-catch tray under the bird feeders but above the baffles to further reduce the amount of seed that falls to the ground.
Encourage night-time predators such as owls and foxes to your yard. There is probably no better way to eliminate rats than having a resident owl on your property. Keep the area around the feeders open to allow these predators easy access to your night feeders.
Reduce or eliminate areas in the garden where rats may choose to set up a home. Under sheds and decks are particularly favourite places where rats and other animals like to call home.

Here is a full length view of the bird feeding pole, baffles and seed catcher tray – all vital to keep rats and mice off your feeders and the ground underneath free of seed.

Three key ingredients to keep rats, mice and squirrels off of your bird feeders. It begins with a high-quality pole, followed by a large squirrel or raccoon baffle, a smaller cap baffle and a seed collecting tray to keep most of the seed from reaching the ground.

The importance of using a no-mess food

Ensuring that little or no bird seed reaches the ground and begins to build up under your feeders, involves a multi-faceted approach, but it starts with providing your birds with the highest quality feed.

A no-mess bird seed purchased from a bird store such as Wild Birds Unlimited is a very good start. If the birds, squirrels and chipmunks clean up all the birdseed that drops to the ground during the day, then there is nothing left for the mice and rats to eat in the evening.

Yes, the no mess blends can be very expensive.

It’s hard to justify spending three or four times the cost for a bag of no-mess feed vs a similar sized bag of mixed seed from a big box store. Remember though, the no-mess food is almost like a concentrated bird seed. You should use less seed than you would if you were using a less expensive, all-purpose mix.

I don’t necessarily fill up my feeders. This way, if a squirrel mananges to get up on the feeder, it is limited in the amount of food it can get to and possibly spill on the ground.

The problem with most mixed seed is that any millet, corn or other filler is likely not to be eaten by the birds. In fact, birds such as blue jays, mourning doves, grackles, woodpeckers and a host of other birds will throw out the “filler seed” to get to the prized sunflower seeds resulting in a large mess building up on the ground.

Some of the seed that spills to the ground will be eaten by squirrels or ground-feeding birds such as Juncos and mourning doves, but the majority of filler seeds will remain on the ground to be cleaned up by mice and rats throughout the evening and into the night.

You may think the mixed seed is not a problem because the space under your feeders is always clean. You might not know that rats and mice are cleaning up the mess under the feeders until their numbers increase to the point that you begin seeing them during daylight hours.

It’s best to ensure you don’t develop a problem, than to have to deal with one after the fact.

Many will argue that a shelled black-oil sunflower seed is all that you need. I agree that it is an excellent seed to use but its shells still leaves a mess under your feeder. Consider combining it in small amounts with the no-mess seed to reduce the expense of feeding only a no-mess blend but not adding so many shells that they begin to add up under your feeder.

Many birds such as nuthatches will take the shelled sunflowers and hide them in trees during the winter months for use later further eliminating the build-up of shells under the feeder.

Use a high-quality pole system

I find that a centralized, single pole system with the proper baffles and seed-catching trays helps to focus my efforts to feed the birds and at the same time monitor any rodent problems in a single area.

Not unlike the high cost of no-mess food, a bird-feeding pole system that works to feed the birds and keep rodents off the feeders can be expensive.

The good news is that you can start simple and expand the pole over time. But whatever you do, don’t skimp on the tools needed to keep rats and squirrels off the feeder.

Buy a pole with a hook, a high-quality squirrel (preferably the larger raccoon baffle), a hat baffle, a tray to catch seed and a spike for the top that accepts seed cylinders. That should be sufficient to feed birds and keep rodents off the feeders.

I included a seed cylinder spike for the top of the feeder because it is an excellent source of food for woodpeckers and other birds but, more importantly, is inherently a no-mess form of feeding birds.

I wrote an extensive article on the value of seed cylinders that you can read here.

Our pole system is located far from the house, but close enough that I can monitor it from a window. I check it every morning and most evenings to ensure there are no unwanted guests helping themselves. In addition, because I regularly sit in my photographic blind near the bird-feeding station for hours on end, I know what is hanging out under the feeder, at least during daylight hours leading into the evening.

I also get to see first-hand how efficiently the ground under the feeders is cleaned up by a myriad of chipmunks, red and black squirrels and, of course, ground feeding birds most notably the Juncos, doves and wrens that love to root around in the mulch looking for scraps of seed.

I can say that they do a heck of a job keeping the area spotless.

Directly under the feeder, I have devised a system to ensure that little to nothing grows up. The no-mess food is the first component. Under the feeder is a thick layer of mulch that gets topped up a couple of times over the summer. Under the mulch, however, are thick plastic bags that were originally used to hold the mulch. This stops bits of seed from getting to the ground and sprouting up under the feeder and discourages mice and other rodents from burrowing underground near a potential food source.

I use other feeders in the garden, but they tend to be feeders that take only a handful of seed at a time and do not create a magnet for rodents. I use a small amount of no-mess seed that is eaten in a single day either by the birds or by squirrels who come across it before the birds get there.

Encourage natural methods to control rats

One of the best ways to keep rats at bay is by attracting, or at least not deterring, natural predators to the yard.

I realize that not every yard is lucky enough to have a resident fox or owl living in or visiting their small urban backyard. But, you might be surprised what actually visits your yard in the evening when you are sleeping. Fox are common even in very urban areas and owls can live in a large tree in your backyard without you even knowing it unless you are lucky enough to see them flying about in the early evening or morning or hearing their calls.

Many of us would likely not recognize the call of an owl unless it is the common call of a Great Horned Owl, which is unlikely to be living in your yard anyway.

A single screech owl feeding their young is known to kill several rats and mice over the course of one night.

Putting up an owl box in your yard is a good first step to attract them. I have written an extensive article about attracting screech owls to your yard. Be sure to check it out here.

If you are lucky enough to have a fox family set up a den in your yard, celebrate it. Watch the kits emerge and play in your yard. At some point they will move on to their own territory but in the meantime, they will clear your yard of any rat and most mice that live there.

Most importantly, do not use pesticides, including rodenticides on your property. Mice and rats that eat this poison could be eaten by the very predators you are trying to attract to kill them naturally. Also, the poison can kill animals that were never meant to be targeted including chipmunks, possums and racoons as well as your cat or dog.

What backyard animals kill rats?

There are a host of animals that will prey on rats.

Raptors (including owls)
Fox
Coyotes
Snakes (especially harmless but scary looking rat snakes)
Possums
Dogs (especially terriers)
Weasels

Reduce your artificial feeding stations

One of the simplest ways to keep rats out of the garden is to get to the point where the birds depend less on artificial feeding stations and more on the natural supply of seed, berries and nuts that grow naturally in your yard.

By providing these natural food sources in your yard, you will be able to reduce the birds’ dependency on the seed provided by your feeders at the same time as reducing your cost of purchasing extensive amounts of expensive bird feed. It will also help to attract a wider variety of birds to your backyard.

I have written an extensive article here about planting a backyard feast to attract and feed your birds naturally.

Attracting and feeding backyard birds naturally is worth checking out.

In conclusion: Putting it all together naturally

Try to establish a garden that is in balance with nature – one that welcomes predators as well as other animals that compete with rats and mice for food sources.

Create natural food for birds such trees, shrubs and flowers where they are less dependent on artificial, centralized food sources such as bird feeders, and ensure that your feeders are set up to discourage rodents from accessing them and from any food staying on the ground.

If you follow these suggestions, you are less likely to attract unwanted visitors and, if you do, they are more likely to disappear one night and provide food for the offspring of hungry predators.

Let nature be your guide.

Tips to keep rats away from bird feeders and out of your yard