Rodents in the compost bin

kylekena · January 2022

Hi,

I’m fairly new to composting and our new house has 2 compost bins at the bottom of the garden. Last summer I noticed either a vole or a rat in the bin when I opened it, and at the bottom of the bin a tunnel clearly made. I covered up the tunnel with a brick and since then haven’t seen anything until a few weeks ago and I have noticed at the side of the bin there is now an ever growing pile of mud building up (it looks fresh) I’m presuming something may be digging underneath it? It’s almost a third high up the side of the compost. Any ideas on the best approach?

Thanks

BenCotto · January 2022

Rodents don’t like disturbance so make a point of going past the thing regularly and whacking it with a stick. They’ll soon be complaining about their bloody noisy neighbours, the neighbourhood going downhill and moving out.

Dovefromabove · January 2022

I agree with @BenCotto … give them a headache.

Also tipping a few buckets of water over the compost will make them feel unwelcome … like most of us they like a peaceful home with a snug dry bed…. a watersoaked home isn’t what they want.

The fact that the rats are setting up home in the compost might indicate that the compost heap is too dry anyway, so giving it a good soaking will benefit the compost too. 👍

Rodents in the compost bin

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