Hello!
I have just disposed of a wonderful crop of outdoor tomatoes grown in pots.
I realised that rats had been on the pots and climbing the plants. Do you know of any practical steps to deter rats in the future?
Many thanks

How do you know it was rats

I suggest befriending an outdoor cat.
Or adopting one.

One time, down in Florida... sleeping under the stars... I woke up and saw so many rats climbing on the weed stalks above me...

Not cool.

You might want to be aware that if the tomatoes have holes chewed in them... it might be cockroaches...

Rat traps, sticky traps, humane traps, poison. You can also put wire fence around the pots. But first find out where the rats (if they are rats) are living. If there are a number of rats there is probably a nest nearby.