What Attracts Vermin to Backyards?

The Garbage Bin

• Your backyard likely contains one major food source that is causing the vermin to stick around: the garbage. If your cans are not completely covered or you're leaving plastic bags outside until trash day, it's a sure-fire way to attract mice, rats, raccoons and other pests. To deal with the problem, get trash cans with locking lids. Better yet, build a cage or enclosure into which you can store your trash and recycling.

Compost and Other Food

• Your compost pile is home to a multitude of microorganisms that are feeding off the decomposing materials -- but vermin might like to feed from it as well. An open compost bin or a free-standing pile is going to be like a welcome beacon for vermin to come and feast. The solution: Get an enclosed compost bin with only small holes for ventilation. Some wily mice might still be able to squeeze through those holes, but the bins will keep out larger vermin. Another food source is your pet's food. If you have dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits or other animals, keep their stored food in a metal container that can't be chewed through. Feed dogs and cats inside the home if possible.

Places to Hide

• Vermin will be attracted to an area where they feel safe to build a nest. Heaps of wood, straw, grass clippings or even junk like cars or scrap metal can look like an ideal nesting place for a mouse or rat. They may also hide in old garden pots, overturned wooden boxes, or nearly any area that allows them to burrow and hide. If you have a lot of debris in your yard, it might require a major cleanup to get rid of your unwanted visitors.

Around the Garden

• With those luscious raspberries and long, lovely carrots, your garden can also be a source of food for vermin. When you're dealing with burrowing animals, creating an underground and above-ground fence may be one solution. The other option is to go on the offensive. The first step should be to try to observe the area and find out what type of vermin you're dealing with. That will allow you to get the right type of trap at your local feed or hardware store. If your problem is possums, for example, setting out mouse traps is not going to help. You might also be able to use poison bait -- but if you have other pets in the house, this won't be a safe option.