Compost Bins - Vermin attack!

A._Badger

conradmum wrote: »

Has this been your experience on this board, or are you speaking generally?

Both - though the latter also applies even if (usually) only by implication.

As for your question about what to put in a bin, I absolutely agree with your formula - uncooked vegetable matter, plus the odd bit of paper, perhaps wool and so on.

And therein lies the particular problem with the 'Green Johanna' as it's billed (and as heavily promoted by my local council). It is specifically sold as being able to take all food waste - including meat and bones and it's one of a new type of bin being seized upon by councils obsessed with landfill targets.

If it worked, naturally, it wouldn't be a problem - in fact it would be a very good thing if, for no other reason, than it would at least partly lessen that other delight wished upon us by 'Greens' - the stink from a wheelie bin waiting up to two weeks for collection!

The problem is, while in theory food waste will compost perfectly well, in practice, Basil and family will always get at it. Even if they have to chew their way in.

Lotus-eater

conradmum wrote: »

Can I ask what the people who have had rat infestations have been putting in their bins? My understanding was that if you never put cooked or animal-based waste in your bins the rats won't bother.
.

I think it depends where you live, not so much what you put in it.
My neighbour only puts in exactly what you are supposed to, I put in chicken manure and egg shells as well. We both used to get rat problems, now I've wired off, only he does.

As a rough guess (and it is a guess, although an experienced guess) here in a very rural area, compost bins are a great source of food and warmth. In more urban areas, there are lots of other free food sources, maybe better and more nutritious sources, but it really depends on the very locale.

Btw Alan doesn't want a debate about it, doesn't want to hear any arguments for or against. Just wants to bring any thread that has nothing to do with it, into a hippy calling, chip on his shoulder.

angelavdavis

I am not wholly convinced it is where you live. I only moved out of London 8 years ago - never had a problem with rats in the compost in London yet I was near a brook and railway where I had seen rats living.

I have always maintained the same formula with my compost heaps - put a mix of garden green rubbish, shredded woody stuff, crushed egg shells, tea bags, ripped up cardboard, shredded paper, uncooked kitchen scraps (anything that the worms don't get), lawn cuttings. Therefore, no change there.

I think if there is a local rat problem (something that you likely don't know about until you get infested as its not exactly polite dinner party talk!), then you are likely to get rats - even if you don't put cooked rubbish in your compost.

I was just furious with the Council for promoting a product that is clearly not rat-proof. I got the infestation about a month after installing the cone! Once I had the infestation in the Green Cone and had to treat it myself to clear the problem (my Council doesn't provide a rat service - quelle surprise that there is a rat problem), I found that the following year, my compost heap got infested - even though I don't put cooked product in the heap.

I have since moved the compost bins from their original location in the hope of removing any scent that might have remained, plus rat-proofed the compost bins as described and haven't had a repeat episode. Like Lotus-eater, I now have chickens too and put chicken waste in there but my rat proofing is still holding up!

I haven't given up on a process for recycling cooked waste - the wormery does a great job of it mainly but I don't put bones or anything in there.

By the way, I don't care if I am called a hippy for composting. Up until last year I was a big career person with the high powered job, etc who has always loved gardening all my life so spent most weekends in my garden. I didn't HAVE to compost and grow my own veg, I wanted to - its a great way of keeping fit and composting is good for recycling garden and uncooked kitchen waste - much better than spending the weekend at the refuse site! This was all way before the Council's caught up with the value of recycling and the media with the joy of growing your own!! All my life it really made me laugh when people referred to anyone who loved gardening or composting as hippies. I could just picture all these covert composters working at night to prevent them being labelled! Nothing to be embarrassed about - it's the trendy thing to do now!!!!

My ex-husband who was a City boy born-n-bred was very sceptical when we bought a house with a garden and I started composting. He simply couldn't believe that anything could be created from all the rubbish that went into this bin at the end of the garden. He was dreading the "turning out" day, when he thought he was going to be turning out a bin full of mucky waste, only to be greeted with rich crumbly soil, his face was an absolute picture!

He was talking to everyone who cared to listen for weeks about it about this fantastic miracle! He even got his brother composting!

A._Badger

No one has called anyone a hippy because they compost. I'd certainly not describe myself as one and I've been a 'compost nut' for years.

I did use the term for the eco-nuts in the council who try to sell people these bins though.

The rat catcher had an even better name for them!

I, too, think a wormery is the way to go for kitchen scraps but as for when you get an infestation - that's as much down to luck as anything. Apparently, this year has seen a major rat problem, due to flooding and cold, but even in a 'good' year, making food available for rats - even if they have to gnaw through plastic to get it - is like hanging a sign on your bin saying 'help yourself'.

And once they're in your bin, your house is only a scamper away...

Megansmum

I have just read this thread with great interest. Last year we had rats under our shed and had a rat catcher come and get rid. I have a new compost bin ready to be used....but now i'm a little worried!:(

So....probably a daft question.....

IF i buried the bottom of the bin under a few inches of soil - would that not stop them getting in? I could surround the base with bricks to add weight...... :think:

Farway

Megansmum wrote: »

I have just read this thread with great interest. Last year we had rats under our shed and had a rat catcher come and get rid. I have a new compost bin ready to be used....but now i'm a little worried!:(

So....probably a daft question.....

IF i buried the bottom of the bin under a few inches of soil - would that not stop them getting in? I could surround the base with bricks to add weight...... :think:

No good I'm afraid, the little bu66ers can burrow and dig in the soil, wire mesh, and / or air rifle, is the only answer, like rabbits really

You could bury bottom of bin in soil, but please use wire mesh over the base

I had no problems for years, only ever put uncooked veg waste, tea bags, egg shells, shredded paper, no cooked food or animal waste in my dalek, but the rats came along one day regardless. I am in sort of semi rural area, so rats are a fact of life here

Monkeysee_monkeydo

Yeah I was just looking through all these posts and thought I'd say that I've seen people composting all sorts of junk. I worked at one property which stunk like death, nearly making me puke only to discover the lovely lady who lived there putting a tied up plastic shopping bag full of chicken carcass into her eco compost bin which was sat on concrete.

This sort of thing (bad composting) just puts people off making an effort to recycle. Unfortunately rats can be attracted to compost bins that have uncooked vegetable waste too. Cooking it though just encourages a bigger party.

Farway

Monkeysee_monkeydo wrote: »

Cooking it though just encourages a bigger party.

I chuckled at this

Farway

deleted cos I mucked it up

melimel

I'm quite interested to see this thread as we've had a rat problem this winter. My neighbour noticed it first in her garden/shed/house, then i discovered that I didn't actually have a colony of super worms in my dalek composter but rats eating all the veg clippings. No cooked food in ours either. We live in an area where we have new food only refuse collections since october and I have been thinking that this may affect the rat's food supply?