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Rats in the compost
marymorriss
Posts: 1
Just went to empty the grass cuttings in my compost bin and saw some large rodent droppings , rats I presume . I found a dead rat on the patio last week . The first time I have ever found evidence of rats as with a cat and 4 dogs thought I might be ok.
What do I do?
Put poison in bin ( I love animals but don't think I can garden with rats around )
do I need to empty the bin completely ?
stop putting raw veg cuttings etc in the bin?
I'm really not happy and just want them gone ?
please any ideas
0
Posts
If you put food scraps in the compost bin stop as it is often the food source that attracts them.
to get them to want to move out of your nice-cosy compost bin give the contents a good soaking with your garden hose. They won't like that and will move on to somewhere drier.
Oh and if you turn the contents with a garden fork regularly it should stop more rats moving in As they don't like being disturbed
Any food sources around e.g. food for wild birds or poultry, in your or your neighbours' gardens? That's often the problem with rats.
Don't put potato peelings into the compost ... rats love potatoes ... and also as has been said, check for food sources, and give the compost a thorough soaking and turn it frequently. Also check in the area for broken brickwork etc around manhole covers ... they sometimes enter gardens that way.
If they don't move on call the Pest Control people or get a proper rat bait box and agricultural strength rat bait from an agricultural supplier.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.