Can Black Pepper Get Rid of Albany Rats?

New York rats are opportunistic eaters and notorious chewers. They will be attacking our garbage bags and strip the insulation of our electrical wires. Their nesting habit can transform our house into a huge mess. If you are dealing with a full-blown infestation, looking for ways to deal with them can be a struggle. According to some, black pepper will be effective in removing rats from your property. Let us analyze if there is a tinge of truth to this concept.



How to Use Black Pepper Against Albany Rats
There are different reasons why homeowners think that black pepper can be effective in getting rid of rats. However, understand that there are no repellents today that will deliver a permanent solution. If you do not deal with the root cause of the problem, it will only take a couple of days before the rats will become accustomed to the presence of repellents.

Using Black Pepper as Poison
There is absolutely no proof that black pepper can kill the rats. Nonetheless, black pepper has a high amount of piperidine. This is a chemical that is allegedly toxic to rats. According to the reports, the toxicity of this chemical is at LD50 for 514mg/kg. Therefore, this will not be as powerful as the commercially available ray poisons sold in the market today. However, the toxicity is still higher compared to the homemade rat poison such as Plaster of Paris and baking soda.

There are various reasons why using black pepper against rats will not be effective. Perhaps the main reason is that rats are considered nibblers. They are clever creatures and they will avoid any thing new in their environment. If it is a new food source, they will test it first by nibbling at it. This will help them understand if this is non-toxic and will be safe for them to eat. The toxicity of the black pepper will not be enough to kill the rats instantly. This will simply cause them discomfort. Therefore, they will only avoid this food product at some point.

Using Black Pepper as Deterrent
Since this will cause them discomfort and they will avoid it, some people think that they can use this as a deterrent against rat. Aside from that, it allegedly causes nasal irritation due to its strong scent. Since the rats will heavily rely on their sense of scent, the strong odor of black pepper will apparently affect their sense that will encourage them to go away. However, rats will not produce the same reaction of humans towards black pepper. If this cause sneezing among humans, do not expect that the rats will also sneeze.

As we mentioned above, there are no repellents that have been proven effective against rats. Rats survive even in the sewers. The smell of the black pepper will not be enough to drive them away. If you are looking for a long-term solution for a rat infestation, you should book for the service of the rat removal experts.

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