I have a bed of sweet potato vine that has been eaten by rats and there are a lot of little holes dug in the bed. I have a dog and don't want to put out anything poison that would hurt the dog so what can I use to rid our yard from these horrible pests?

Pellet gun maybe, if you can't use poison, but where are you located?

On second thought, I don't think rats dig holes to burrow; they are far to lazy and smart to look for accommodation like that preferring drain pipes and such to live in. How do you know for sure they are rats, have you actually seen them?

Yes, we see them scurry when we go outside. This morning we found a black rat snake in our pool who had just deoured a rat -- you could see the bulge in the middle of the snake... he didn't die -- because he somehow got out of the pool and disappeared. Our exterminator has placed bait traps around the perimeter where they run. We believe they are coming from a neighbor's yard... they are hoarders and it's a disaster in their back yard.. I am trying to find peppermint oil that will supposedly send them away but they will just go into someone else's property and reproduce. This is an awfull predicament. I am so disgusted with these nasty creatures!

On second thought, I dont think rats dig holes to burrow; they are far to lazy and smart to look for accomodation like that preferring drain pipes and such to live in.

When I was younger, my neighbors had a huge garden and wound up with a rat problem. You could clearly see them digging holes all over. They had quite a network going. Up until that point, I didn't think they would burrow either.

The pellet gun idea will work as long as there aren't too many. That's what my neighbors had me doing. It needs to be a quality pellet gun or it will do no more than sting them... rats are tough.

In the long run, an exterminator is the only real answer.

Yes, we see them scurry when we go outside. This morning we found a black rat snake in our pool who had just deoured a rat -- you could see the bulge in the middle of the snake....he didn't die -- because he somehow got out of the pool and disappeared. Our exterminator has placed bait traps around the perimeter where they run. We believe they are coming from a neighbor's yard...they are hoarders and it's a disaster in their back yard.. I am trying to find peppermint oil that will supposedly send them away but they will just go into someone else's property and reproduce. This is an awfull predicament. I am so disgusted with these nasty creatures!

Yes. Now that you say your neighbors are hoarders, I see what you mean.

Buy peppermint oil in a health food store, they don't like toothpaste either, for the same reason!

I have a cat and a Jack Russell. They act as a tag team, with the cat catching the rodent and the dog performing the coup de grace. Even though the cat is quite capable of doing it, and does when she's on her own. She just takes a lot longer to do it than the dog.
Unfortunately far too many chipmunks and birds rather than mice.
If the neighbors' hoarding is enough to land them on TV, call the health dept. Or the TV show, or both.