They sell repellants for all types of animals in most stores that sell gardening stuff. These will not harm your plants either. Thats what they are meant for :)

This post was edited by kellie.shope on Thu, Aug 7, 14 at 12:24

You could set traps, but from what I hear, you have a never ending supply of rodents in the cities.

There has to be something about your plants or the area that are attracting them. Or is there something in the neighborhood that is? Someone leaving a garbage can lid off? I can't imagine why a rat would be interested in a rose. Especially if it has thorns.

I would start by calling the landlord and then the city health inspector.

Is someone feeding birds nearby? Pet food out? If you see them during the day, you've got zillions you that you don't see. I agree with prairiemoon2, call the landlord to deal with the problem. If the neighbors complain too, the landlord should put bait out. (I tried the trap route, but only got them stuck in the traps alive, then try to figure out how to kill them humanely.) I've never had a lot of help from the health department where rats are concerned unless they are in a location where someone is selling food.

Thanks everyone - there's a restaurant right below my apartment so it's possible that's part of the problem. I'll talk to my landlord and hopefully she is willing to do something about it. Pretty gross to think about them crawling around out there, but I'm glad it's not the roses attracting them.

The health department could be of help since there is a restaurant downstairs. Is the food being disposed of properly? Rats and restaurants aren't a healthy combo.

Complain to the landlord. Is she the owner of the building?

Emily, I think the fact there is a restaurant there is definitely the problem and they may be disposing of food in a way that is attracting them. I found some great information from nyc dot gov. and put a link to it below. This might give you a lot of ideas and a basis for talking to your landlord. There's also a number to call.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rat Control Guidelines for Property Owners

Thank you Prairiemoon2 and everyone else!

I have rats in my yard, and after reading lots of material, I decided to try Irish Spring soap pieces and peppermint oil on cotton balls. So far, so good. Smells these guys don't like, but it just chases them away and I read that if you kill them, there will just be more coming to take their place. I like the idea of making the area a no fun zone...makes more sense to me.