There are numerous reasons why homeowners are trying to rid themselves of pesky rodents such as rats. They carry diseases and can impose on households with pets and children.
However, a commonly used natural solution, believe it or not, involves onions. Onions can be used to successfully repel and run away rats and other home pests of that nature.
While repelling rats with onions is definitely a solution, onions are actually quite fatal to rats, and are known to be an effective natural remedy for clearing your home of rodents.
Can Rats Eat Onions
Rats are able to consume onions. However, they aren’t entirely fond of the onions.
In fact, most rats will avoid onions like a plague unless otherwise disguised by other foods.
The tangy and putrid scent acts as a repellent to the rodents, causing them to completely avoid areas they might be overly present in. Rats are more sensitive to scents than humans, making onions almost unbearable to the little miscreants.
Rats will devour onions so long as the onion is cooked, or the smell of the onions are masked with the contents of other foods the rats will prefer in comparison to onions.
By mixing in onions with another substance or food, you are appealing even more to rats with the very substance that repels them.
Does Onions Kill Rats?
When ingested, raw onions pose a larger danger to rats than cooked onions.
While onions are a danger to rats and most animals in general, cooked onions are able to be consumed with little to no danger to the Rats.
The reason being the toxins found within an onion can be very harmful and deadly until cooked. Once cooked the toxins are excreted from the vegetable to have a lower toxin level as opposed to when the onion is raw.
Onions are indeed fatal to rats. When raw, onions are found to be extremely potent to most small rodents and household pets. Due to the amount of varying toxins onions typically carry when raw, most animals will avoid onions and their scent.
For rats, this behavior of avoidance is no different.
Onions can be used as a way to eliminate rats. However, it depends on the amount of onions and the way in which they were prepared prior to being consumed by the animals.
Seeing as rats don’t possess the physical ability to puke or vomit, once anything poisonous or dangerous to them is ingested, there isn’t a way around preventing bodily injury or even death. Making onions efficient at killing or deterring rats due to the toxins raw onions contain once they are ingested.
Here’s How Rats are Affected by Onions
When raw onions are ingested by rats, they have the ability to cause severe anaemia in rats.
Primarily targeting the lungs through the use of draining amounts of oxygen found in oxygenated blood cells. Consuming onions can cause great stomach and lower abdominal pain to the rats.
Studies have shown that most rats after coming into contact with, and even consuming raw onions die slowly and painfully from suffocation, as well as kidney failure and starvation.
The death of a rat from onion consumption usually takes anywhere from 12 – 48 hours, varying on the type of rat, as well as, the amount of onion consumed.
Onions in their rawest forms are deadly to rats. The toxins in which raw onions contain that are harmful to rats, as well as other animals, include; Sulfur as well as Disulfide, and Thiosulphates.
Sulfur can be dangerous to animals and humans alike, however the amount animals can take versus humans before any damage happens will vary.
The same can be said for Disulfide and Thiosulphates, in which the toxicity of these two will outweigh it’s dangers in comparison to exposure to Sulfur.
Ironically the chemicals that pose a larger threat to these rats that are found in onions, are created through the preparation and oxygenation of the chemical compound Sulfur.
When these toxins come into contact with rodents or small animals, the animals in question can turn to be very sick and the results can often times lead to death.
It is safe to say, that should a rat consume an onion it is highly likely they won’t live for longer than a day or two.
How To Use Onions to Kill Rats Effectively
First and foremost, it’s imperative to comprehend that are ways in which you do and do not want to feed rats the onion for effective elimination.
The toxins found in onions as previously mentioned hold no bounds as to the type of onions able to be used on rats. It is better to have the onions raw, as they possess a clearer threat to the rodents than if they were to be cooked.
For example, by cooking the onions, the toxins are successfully removed, no longer able to successfully aid you in ridding your home. Meaning that rats and other various home pests will be able to consume the onions with no serious repercussions.
If you do decide that the onion solution is something you want to try as a homeowner, it’s best to use onions raw. When the onions are raw, they pose more of a threat for the furry rascals.
Common practices with using onions to get rid of rats include masking the scent with an alluring food.
By masking the scent of the onions, you are ensuring the onions are consumed. Thus eradicating the rat problem in your household.
Rats are known to be repelled by the scent of raw onions, as they are aware through their sense of smell that onions pose a danger to them.
Many homeowners combine grilled meats, or gravy with the slices of raw onions, before placing the food in the area where suspected rodent inhabitants reside.
While this natural remedy very well may work. Keep in mind that the onions must be raw and consumed for the rats to be successfully eliminated from your home.
Viability of Using Onions As Rat Repellant
While rats aren’t fond of onions and usually steer clear of them due to the putrid scent described in previous sections, onions aren’t a full-proof prevention or elimination method.
That being said, onions do run the risk of killing and are found to be quite successful in repelling rats. Rats can be known to avoid areas that smell of onions.
The scent is quite painful for the rodents, and once the scent is picked up you can expect rats in your home to scatter from the area in which you put them in.
Protecting Your Garden From Rats With Help of Onions
If you are having suspicions rats or mice are getting into your garden, you can use onions to protect your garden and repel them from your home as well.
Simply by placing pieces of onions around the exterior of the gardening area, you can effectively protect your garden from Rats or Mice.
Of course, the onions will need to be replaced daily or every couple of days to prevent them from rotting and creating a larger problem for you and your home.
As rotted onions in your garden aren’t the best protection method or fertilizer. It is also recommended you place mulch on top of the garden soil to protect your plants from being uprooted.
Alternatively, growing onions will also keep rats and other rodents from tearing up your garden or getting into your home.
There are a variety of onions you can choose to grow or keep in your home to prevent rats from inhabiting your space.
Is it Actually Worth To Kill Rats with Onions?
In Conclusion, while using onions is a natural remedy, the damage in which it does to the rodents at the rate in which it does it can be very alarming to some. Arguably it can even be seen as inhumane due to the causes of death that onions can produce for the rat population.
There are multiple ways to get rid of rodents and rats in your home. The use of onions certainly being one of them. However there is no sure guarantee that the rats will ingest the onions. Unequivocally this lack of guarantee leaves room to question and even look into other methods of eradication.
As a result, throughway of suffocation and kidney failure, onions have been used to eradicate and repel rats in households and even gardens. Though it is recommended to consult with a pest-control professional, onions will easily do the trick.
Other Effective Methods to Kill Rats Apart from Onions
A cheap and effective method that is commonly used for rats in the home does include rat traps. Traps can be slid under furniture, or in corners where you might notice a few rodents running around in your home.
Rat traps will kill rodents instantly, making it a quicker and more humane way to rid yourself of rats and rodents present in your home. Unfortunately, it’s not a great prevention method.
While rat traps aren’t a prevention method, the CDC has released a list of prevention methods for pests as well as rodents that can easily find themselves in your home.
Trimming any shrubs near entryways in your home is perhaps one of the most important ways to keep rats from your area, in addition to keeping your home clean and free from gaps or holes.
Of course, there are many more ways to repel and keep rats from your home, however, onions are a suitable natural remedy. As they won’t be imposing any harm to any pets or children that may be inhabiting your space as well.
