https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UljhWyhRRME
Here is some handy advice on keeping rats out of your garden this year. And remember if you put out food to encourage wildlife (bird feeder), rats are wildlife and will be looking for things to eat.
1) Clean up any bird food spills before nightfall.
2) By cutting back overgrown hedges, shrubs and bushes you minimise the rats’ hiding places.
2) Mesh or block off entry points under sheds and outbuildings.
3) Use high bird tables with a large border lip to prevent birds knocking food on to the floor.
5) Use plastic compost bins with lids.
6) If there is evidence of rats living in the garden then contact a professional pest control service.
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-spring-gardens-coming-keep-the-rats-out-1.2189627