Question:

[dgibby]

I'm planning to plant grapevines on a pergola near the house. My question is: Will the grapes attract varmints? I'm especially worried about rats. If so, I'll plant a non-edible vine near the house and move the grapevines toward the back of my yard.

[Blue Gardener]

1. Never heard of rats invading a garden

Raccoons and squirrels maybe, but no rats.

[dgibby]

2. Thanks!

I saw one hanging around my shed, made me think. Brazen little critter, what with 8 cats, 3 dogs, and about 6 feral cats. That rat's got chutzpa!

[Arkansas Granny]

3. That will probably be a short lived rat with all those critters.

[hippywife]

4. We have rats and mice in our garden.

The rats may be going for the chicken feed or the eggs, not sure since the hen house is incorporated into our garden. The mice like to build nests in the boxes and they have been known to eat a few things.

[Blue Gardener]

5. Maybe it's a regional thing

We had about an acre of garden when I was growing up and I never saw a rat. We had field mice, but they didn't seem to bother the garden. I agree they were much more interested in the animal feed than anything else.
Raccoons were another story. Thankfully, back then the deer population was under control and we didn't have to worry about them eating everything in sight.