Rodents can wipe out an entire garden overnight. Squirrels, rats, mice, and other pests can undo months of work in a matter of hours. In this guide, we’ll look at how to stop them from destroying your garden starting today. If you’re new here, my name is Kris, and on this channel we focus on practical preparedness—protecting your food, your home, and your peace of mind.
A few weeks ago, I planted starter plants for our fall garden, and by the next morning, everything was gone. Kale and cabbage had been chewed right down to the stems. The little oasis I had created had drawn in rats that found their way into the attic and the chicken coop, eating feed and eggs, while rabbits and squirrels tore through the garden beds. Within a week, it was a full invasion.
Rodents don’t just eat plants; they contaminate food, spread disease, and cause lasting damage if you don’t act quickly. But instead of turning to poison—which can harm predators and disrupt the very ecosystem we rely on—I’ve taken a layered defense approach that actually works. It involves three stages: stopping new attractants, catching the ones already there, and building natural defenses that keep them from coming back.
The first step is to eliminate what’s attracting rodents in the first place. They’re after two things: food and shelter. If you remove both, most infestations end before they even start. The challenge is that many of us are unknowingly providing both. In my case, I had an open chicken feeder that became a nightly buffet of spilled grain, and my attic offered a warm, dry nesting spot. The rats were moving between the two, tunneling under the coop and raiding the garden at night.
The fix starts with a simple walk around your property. Look for food sources—pet dishes left out overnight, spilled bird seed, open compost, unsecured trash cans, or feed bags with dust or crumbs. Even tiny bits of food can keep rodents coming back. Seal feed and pet food in metal or heavy-duty plastic containers. I switched our dog feeders to timed, sealed dispensers that rodents can’t access. Every small improvement adds up.
Then address shelter. Rodents can squeeze through holes as small as a dime, so check vents, pipes, crawl spaces, and eaves. I ended up hiring an exterminator to seal every vent and gap around the house, and once those were closed, the attic problem stopped completely. For the chicken coop, I replaced the open PVC feeders with a treadle-style feeder that only opens when a chicken steps on it. It cut off the food source overnight.
Even if you don’t have chickens, you probably have something that draws them in—pet food, garden seed, or just clutter that offers cover. Removing food and sealing shelter fixes the problem now and prevents it from coming back. Once you’ve done that, everything else you try—traps, repellents, predators—works far more effectively.
Trapping comes next. Even with prevention, some rodents will already be inside your perimeter. We use several types of traps, including a Vulcan multi-catch trap and traditional snap traps. They’re simple, effective, and poison-free. We bait them with peanut butter or chicken feed and place them along walls, under sheds, and near the coop, because rodents prefer to move along edges. Always keep traps out of reach of pets and children, and check them daily to reset or clear them—an unmonitored trap quickly loses effectiveness.
It’s not pleasant work, but consistent trapping is one of the most effective ways to reduce populations quickly. A single rat can eat and contaminate far more than you might expect, and if you’re relying on your garden for food, that’s a risk you can’t afford. Trapping takes the problem head-on without spreading poison through the food chain.
Squirrels, on the other hand, require a different approach. They’re clever and highly destructive, capable of chewing through entire rows of seedlings in a single afternoon. For them, I use live traps—cages baited with feed that capture without harm. In California, relocation is regulated, so always check your local guidelines. In some areas, captured squirrels must be euthanized; in others, they can be relocated to wild areas.
Live trapping is a humane option, but it’s only part of the solution. Squirrels are territorial and persistent. Remove one, and another will move in within days if food is still available. That’s why trapping needs to be paired with deterrents or predators. Otherwise, you’ll just reset the cycle.
Repellents add another layer of defense. Predator urine—like coyote, fox, bobcat, or mountain lion—is available at most feed and garden stores. My local supplier recommended fox urine as especially effective against squirrels and small rodents, while wolf or mountain lion scents can deter larger animals like raccoons, rabbits, and deer. These aren’t perfect solutions, but they play on animals’ reliance on scent. Rotating different predator scents keeps rodents from adapting.
I use a granular repellent sprinkled around the garden perimeter to create a scent barrier, and a spray repellent on hanging scent pads along the fence line. Both last several weeks but need reapplication after rain or heavy watering. I’ve also tested buckets of used cat litter placed around the garden perimeter—the smell of other animals can work as a natural deterrent too, similar to predator urine. Just keep it contained and away from your plants.
Repellents aren’t a standalone fix, but they buy time while other methods take effect. They confuse and unsettle pests, making your garden less inviting. Think of them as part of a layered system that works best when combined with exclusion, sanitation, and natural predators.
You can also use nature itself as a repellent. In southern California’s Zone 9b, several plants do double duty as deterrents. Lemongrass, lavender, citronella, geraniums, onions, and rosemary all thrive here and emit strong scents that rodents dislike. Planting these around the edges of your garden creates an environment that feels uncomfortable to pests. Over time, they’ll move on to more pleasant areas.
These plants offer multiple benefits. They’re beautiful, attract pollinators, and many can be used in cooking. Lavender and rosemary thrive in dry conditions and need little care once established. Citronella and geraniums add fragrance to patios and walkways. They aren’t a silver bullet, but for anyone who prefers eco-friendly, humane methods, planting deterrent species is one of the easiest and most natural solutions.
Finally, we introduced natural predators—farm cats. A few new barn kittens have joined our homestead, and they’ll grow up as working animals, patrolling barns, coops, and garden edges. A single barn cat can eliminate dozens of rodents in a season, and even their scent helps deter new ones from moving in. Farmers have relied on cats for centuries because they’re effective, low-maintenance, and poison-free.
To do this responsibly, provide your cats with secure shelter, regular feeding, and vet care. Feeding them keeps them bonded to your property and ensures they see it as their territory. When you introduce barn cats for the first time, keep them enclosed in a large kennel for a few weeks so they acclimate. Once released, they’ll start exploring and establishing hunting routes. Over time, they become a self-sustaining solution—no traps to reset, no poison to worry about, just a natural balance that keeps pests in check.
None of these steps alone will solve the problem, but together they form a layered defense that cuts off food sources, reduces populations, and makes your garden a place rodents want to avoid. This combination turns your backyard from an open buffet into a defended, productive space where your crops and animals can thrive.
As you drive rodents out of your garden, make sure they aren’t moving into your home. Set a few traps inside, check for gaps, and seal small openings with steel wool or flashing. Food security isn’t just about growing—it’s about protecting what you grow and where you live.
Let me know in the comments which of these methods have worked best for you, and if you’ve ever tried something unconventional that actually worked. And as always, stay safe out there.
