UK households urged to use 1 item as soon as rat-sized holes appear

Spotting a or a mouse in either your or worse, in your home, is truly the stuff of nightmares. Apart from being unsightly creatures, rats are also known to pose significant health and structural risks. These scuttering creatures are renowned for spreading diseases, causing property and garden damage and contamination of food and water, all from their gnawing and burrowing.

Therefore finding cheap and easy methods to keep these rodents away from your abode is high on most Brits' agenda with a 'caulk' method ranking high thanks to its simplicity. According to , if you notice any holes or cracks that a rat or mouse may use as access into your home, you should "fill them in with caulk".

The site added: "You can also fill in larger gaps with a mix of caulk and steel wool.

"Steel wool is a harder material to chew through for these rodents."

For those unsure what caulk is, they're a flexible material which is used to seal cracks, gaps and joints into structures that in turn helps prevent air, moisture and dust from entering.

Essentially, caulk acts as a barrier with multi purposes of both filling and sealing off openings.

Caulk is commonly made from either silicone, acrylic or vinyl, or silicone with modern caulk typically found in cartridges for application with a caulking gun.

As for the best type of caulk to use for preventing rats from entering your garden or home, experts advise using a silicone sealant as it has a number of advantages.

These include being ideal for rat prevention as it's difficult to chew through and it's also non-toxic so it's safe for all those living in your home including also any of the building's residents.

Experts further advise filling in any small holes with steel wool and then place caulk around the steel wool to ensure it stays in place or you can use spray foam.

Rats aside, by using the caulk method in your home you can also improve energy efficiency, reduce noise transmission and enhance the appearance of finished surfaces, with the method also proving successful when looking to prevent air and moisture infiltration.

Purcor Pest Solutions list other natural methods to ensure no rats enter your dwellings which includes using some plants.

"Plants like lavender, elderberry, daffodils, and any type of mint plants are known to repel rats," added the site.

"You could plant some around your home or keep them in pots inside your home with bay leaves and oak leaves being among the best when it comes to deterring rodents."