Christmas is full of festive traditions, from leaving milk out for Father Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer, to sprinkling ‘reindeer food’ to guide Father Christmas’s sleigh to your home on Christmas Eve.
However, did you know that sprinkling certain reindeer food in your garden doesn’t only guide Father Christmas to your house, but also PESTS!
Expert warns against using OATS as Reindeer Food this Christmas
Oats are commonly the main ingredient in reindeer food recipes, however, sprinkling oats in your garden can attract pests, such as rats to your garden.
Grains, such as oats, wheat and rice are important nutrients for a rat as they are full of vitamins and minerals that rats need as a part of their diet. Therefore, sprinkling reindeer food that is made up of oats in your garden could leave you with a swarm of rats this Christmas!
With this in mind, experts at Wayfair UK have revealed their top tips for the BEST recipe for reindeer food that is sure to bring joy, not pests, to your home this Christmas.
Expert shares three tips for the perfect reindeer food recipe
Experts from Wayfair UK comment: “Reindeer food is an amazing way to spread festive cheer this Christmas. However, sprinkling reindeer food can often lead to unexpected pests visiting your garden this Christmas.
With this in mind, here are three easy tips to deter rats this Christmas.
Add a hint of spice to your reindeer food
“Pests are attracted to food scraps within our homes, therefore it’s crucial to add a hint of spice to your reindeer food this year to deter any unexpected Christmas visitors. Adding a few spoonfuls of chilli powder not only adds a pop of colour to your reindeer food, but the spice is also a natural and safe deterrent against garden pests.”
Feed the birds
“Reindeer food can be the perfect opportunity to do some good for the birds in your garden this winter. Consider replacing the oats in your reindeer food with birdseed, and sprinkle your reindeer food over a garden bird table, or in a bird feeder to ensure that the winter robins in your garden remain fed over the festive period.”
Always AVOID glitter
“Christmas is all about sparkle however when it comes to reindeer food, sparkle needs to be avoided at all costs. Glitter can be extremely harmful to the environment and wildlife within our gardens and not to mention leaving a huge mess to clean up!
Instead of glitter, add in a few spoonfuls of chilli powder to add a natural pop of colour to your reindeer food.”