Composting and rats?!

Kay_Peel

To keep mice and rats away from my compost areas, I put a set of wind chimes in a nearby tree. The windchimes are made of bamboo and make a deep noise in the wind.

Someone told me in would do the trick after my bins were colonised two years ago by mice. I don't know why or how, but it seems to work.

Kay

cristaki_2

Making a drink this morning and through bleary eyes I noticed a rat sat on the bird table. I watched it make a few journeys between the table and the direction of the composter.

I removed the composter and dug the heap out, at the bottom was a nest of eight baby rats, composting has been stopped along with leaving out bird feed.:eek:

emmilou

Was thinking of having one but have been suitably put off!!! eeeuuww horrid things:eek:

potsofmoney_(I_wish)

Hi all,
My OH was taking a turn at rotavating (we're turfing this weekend) the lawn when he started to do a mad mime at me. I've never been any good at give us a clue, but in the end found out that a rat :eek: had been seen running up the garden from our compost bin. I've only been using it a couple of months so it is nowhere near anything resembling compost yet. I really don't want to be feeding the local rat population. My OH suggested digging the compost bin deeper into the earth. Anyone got any other ideas? I don't really want to get rid of the compost bin but equally don't want to have rats.

Thanks in advance

SKIPPY54

Try standing your bin on small mesh chicken wire no more than half an inch.
I hope you are not putting cooked food in or meat and bones.if you have dig it all out and start again
If you know anyone with a Ferret have one run aroun your garden,the scent is enough to drive rats away.

Debt_Free_Chick

No option - you need to put traps or poison down.

If rattie is feeding from the bin, then you'll have to rat-proof it to stop him now. They'll chew through all manner of stuff. He has this "marked" as a food source, so expect him to return.

I only hope he is just feeding from it .... I've had rats nest in my compost bin, complete with babies :eek: :eek: :eek: :mad:

N9eav

Give your local council a call, they usually send a chap out who will put down rat bait. Mine was a free service

divadee

no advice as never had rats, but in the compost bin when we first moved in here, we had to move it as it was in teh middle of the lawn (who puts it there) anyway, whilst mr divadee was digging it he found a colony of slow worms and i freaked!!! there not worms i tell ya they look like horrible snakes (they are actually legless lizards so a snake in my eyes)

i have a huge huge phobia about snakes it took me weeks to go back in teh garden

alanobrien

We had one once. I put wire mesh over the bottom of the bin and not had any since.
That and dont forget to keep the compost a little damp, they dont like that either.

MMCG_2

They say you're never more than 12 feet away from a rat! And that you never get them alone. We've just invested in a greenhouse and I'm browsing for a copost bin. But after reading this, I'm fast changing my plans! I love the idea (but not of rats...) Let me check all this again, I need to put the peelings of fruit and veg only in the bin, maybe teabags. What else so that I'm not going to end up feeding my local rat neighbours etc?