Rats & Compost Heaps

[Tillyboo]

We have just had a problem with rats in our loft - having listened to the 'Rat Olympics' one night we got the pest man in to zap them.

We only had one rat although it sounded like a couple of teams up there. We have found where they were coming in and blocked the whole up.

We have 2 compost bins at the bottom of our 100ft garden tucked away in a corner - they are the open pallet type with carpet on the top and not the plastic type.
We generate a lot of compost so I'm loathed to get rid of them but I've been told that a compost heap is a big attraction to rats.

Also, my neighbour has an avery in their garden and refuses to put down pet friendly rat poison as they have a cat. This cat has already had a major fight with a rat and has ended up with an abscess.

My question is, are there any satisfactory plastic compost bins with a big enough hole to extract the compost from - the open ones are so much easier to get the compost out of.

I've seen the ones that spin around and are supposed to generate compost in 21 days but do they work and are they big enough ?

We live on the edge of a village so the rats have some rights I suppose ??? But, not in my garden or house ! Eww!

[milou2]

we too have compost bins made from pallets with a new rat home under one of them. Part of me thinks that its ok to have rats if we live 200 metres from a field.

My mil next door is putting down poison each day though while I continue to save the earth by composting our peelings and compostable veg cartons. We are cancelling eachother out!

What will you do? And do your rats run around in daylight like ours?

[milou2]

I haven't answered yr question. Those turning machines look ideal. I too would love to know if they really work.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

If you've seen a rat in your house, I'd say that the compost heap isnt what is really attracting them.

YOu are only ever really 30 feet away from a rat anyway - such is their abundance.

We have a compost bin from the council. It has an opening at the bottom to remove the compost, but, to be honest, we only use it once a year so fill up the bin, and turn it here and there. Then at the beginning of each spring we empty the whole contents of the compost bin over the veg patch.

[merlotmama]

I have a tumbling compost bin. I don't think it works very well here (central Scotland), possibly because we don't get enough sun/heat. Of course, I never remember to turn it more than a couple of times each week.

I have seen Susan Hampshire on TV, somewhere in the south of England, being v enthusiastic about hers.

I think your neighbour with the aviary is more likely to attract rats than a boring old compost heap with no cooked food. On the other hand, if Ratty is hungry, I expect he doesn't care whether his food is cooked or not.