Rats and bird feeders, animal food etc - Ask Extension
Our HOA is trying to update our rules to avoid attracting rats. Are their specific features we should look for in bird feeders and types of bird seed ...
Knowledgebase
Rats and bird feeders, animal food etc #924349
Asked February 09, 2026, 2:20 AM EST
Our HOA is trying to update our rules to avoid attracting rats. Are their specific features we should look for in bird feeders and types of bird seed that are especially attractive to rats. Any other suggestions you can offer - especially with regard to domestic pets attracting rats would be helpful. Thank you
Linn County Oregon
Expert Response
All potential foodstuffs, including those we see as "garbage", will be readily used by rats. For rat management, i.e., to reduce carrying capacity and habitat quality for rats, pet food of any kind, pet water, downed garden produce, downed garden or ornamental fruits, bird seed spillage, "cold" compost piles, etc., should all be made unavailable to rats - which can burrow, climb, and chew extensively of course. So specifically to your bird feeder question, bird feeders should be positioned far enough away from fences or other structures, and poles "baffled", to prevent rats from climbing over to or up to the food. Also, selecting bird feeders that prevent (or catch) kicked- and beaked-out seed is a good idea. Another very helpful practice is to ONLY buy high-quality, and thus high-consumption (by birds) seeds. I would recommend sunflower chips - They are the highest nutritional value for birds, they don't sprout into non-native weeds if they do hit the ground, and their high value means it's highly likely that birds will pick them up before nightfall.
To head off a common urban legend, chickens do not "cause" or "draw" rats. Poor management of access to feed is the same issue as feeders for wild birds.
Furthermore, residents should be mindful of reducing cover for rats and their burrows (for R. rattus species). So those piles of boards that might be useful in the future, etc. Granted, we all want and need to reuse and recycle semi-durables like boards, etc., but making sure to keep eyes on those to make sure they don't turn into safe "havens."
Another important facet of most "rat conversations" is the issue of cats. Solid scientific experimental work has illustrated that cats, regardless of what they're fed or what they're made to wear, are highly INEFFECTIVE at killing, much less controlling populations, of rats.
I am happy to discuss this further, or if your HOA would like a presentation on rat ecology, etc., let me know. I'm actually a wildlife biologist and researcher, but I'm apparently the only person at OSU handling this content :)
To head off a common urban legend, chickens do not "cause" or "draw" rats. Poor management of access to feed is the same issue as feeders for wild birds.
Furthermore, residents should be mindful of reducing cover for rats and their burrows (for R. rattus species). So those piles of boards that might be useful in the future, etc. Granted, we all want and need to reuse and recycle semi-durables like boards, etc., but making sure to keep eyes on those to make sure they don't turn into safe "havens."
Another important facet of most "rat conversations" is the issue of cats. Solid scientific experimental work has illustrated that cats, regardless of what they're fed or what they're made to wear, are highly INEFFECTIVE at killing, much less controlling populations, of rats.
I am happy to discuss this further, or if your HOA would like a presentation on rat ecology, etc., let me know. I'm actually a wildlife biologist and researcher, but I'm apparently the only person at OSU handling this content :)
