Do bird feeders attract rats?
Yes, more than anything else in a typical yard. Spilled seed under a feeder feeds rats every night. Take the feeder down until the rats are gone.
What attracts rats to a yard?
Reviewed by William "Willy" Vizcarrondo, NYS DEC Certified Commercial Pesticide Applicator C1825832. Updated September 23, 2026.
Short answer
Food, water, and cover. Norway rats settle in a yard that offers pet food or bird seed, unsecured garbage, fallen fruit or a vegetable garden, standing water, and a place to burrow, which means along a foundation, under a shed or deck, beneath a woodpile, or in dense ground cover (UC IPM). Remove those and the yard stops being a rat yard.
The attractants, in order
Bird feeders and outdoor pet food dishes are the most common feeders we find; UC IPM lists droppings around dog and cat dishes as a classic sign. Garbage in plastic cans they chew, compost with food scraps, fallen fruit, and vegetable gardens come next. Water from leaking spigots, birdbaths, and clogged gutters. Then cover: rats burrow along building foundations, beneath rubbish or woodpiles, and around gardens and fields, lining nests with leaves, shredded paper, and cloth (UC IPM).
Reading the signs
Burrow openings 2 to 4 inches across along the foundation, under the shed, or in a planting bed; runways worn through grass or mulch; droppings about 3/4 inch with blunt ends; smudge marks along fences and beams (UC IPM). Rats forage 100 to 500 feet from the nest, so the burrow feeding your yard may be next door.
On Long Island
Waterfront neighborhoods, marina towns, and homes near restaurant strips carry the heaviest rat pressure in Nassau and Suffolk, and bird feeders in those areas are a standing invitation. Rat control that lasts is exterior: sealing entries larger than 1/4 inch with steel wool, wire screen, or sheet metal (UC IPM), locked bait stations at the burrows, and removing the food. Bobby Bugs rat treatment includes all of it and carries a 60-day written guarantee.
Related
Related questions
Will rats leave if I remove the food?
They'll leave a yard with nothing to eat and nowhere to burrow, but an established burrow along the foundation usually needs trapping and bait stations too.
How do I know if the burrow is active?
Stuff the opening loosely with newspaper or soil. If it's cleared out by the next morning, it's active.
Sources
Still not sure? Call (516) 509-6001 and we'll tell you what you're dealing with.