roof rat help

Question
Dear Janell,
Please help me if you can. I love and respect all living creatures, but am
married to a man who is increasingly agitated by a burgeoning population of
roof rats in our attic, garage, garden, etc. I am standing firm (of course!)
against the use of poison and glue traps (what is wrong with humanity?!),
but I simply must find a way to convince these unwanted houseguests to
leave. I'm terrified that if I go out of town he'll call an exterminator. Do you
have any suggestions? I've considered spreading peppermint and spearmint
oil everywhere; do you think that has a prayer of working? We have the
electronic sound devices, but the rats don't seem to mind them.
Thank you so much in advance for any advice you might give.

Answer
From what I've seen, Peppermint oil doesn't always do the trick, but Peppermint EXTRACT does - I didn't think there was a difference but I witnessed a true demonstration in a garage infested with roof rats and holy cow! They ran for cover quick. I've heard similar things with mothballs (although I don't know if that is true) and Lavendar oil. Electronic sound is useless --- they ignore it. Those things are mostly a huge scam. :)