rats in me compost bin

bugsntinas

Can rat poison be used in my compost bin?only ask as i have one of them large plastic ones and the bloomy rats keep eating it to get in.i have chicken wire underneath and around it and that don't stop them in fact they have even eaten thru that.i have placed traps inside but they avoid them.have rocks and stones all around the base as well.as a thought can you buy mole traps over here as i could put them over the holes in the compost.

dfbemt

S**t, my worst nightmare.

Have you tried traps outside the bin? Wrap the bin in chicken wire? Get a cat or a jack russel? Or, worst case scenario, stop composting.

redser7

Tumbler composters are up off the ground on a frame. A bit pricey I think but might be worth considering?

bugsntinas

Couldn't give up composting i rather stand there and shoot the bleeders.
The next bin is gonna be like fort knox with chicken wire,maybe i could electrify it.:rolleyes:

bartlguy

Just build yourself a tumbler, off the ground as redser said. All you need are two a-frames, a long steel pole and a drum or old oak barrel. Follow instructions on you tube to build one as the new ones cost around 250 euro.

morg

Hi,
We had the same problem with rats burrowing into compost bin from below. All we did was sit it onto a large concrete patio slab 2ft x 2ft and there's no sign of them now. You can also bait up traps with pieces of mars bar if you want to reduce the numbers. We tried poison tablets in plastic tubes but this didn't work.
Try the solid base idea first anyway,the slab only cost us 7 euro.
Good luck!

doctor evil

We have mice in ours at the mo, I like to give mine a good mix with the fork. Have you seen them or is the tunnels and knawing.

XrayMike235

I had the exact same problem with rats tunnelling into my compost bin. I have cats, but as the rats never had to come above ground, the cats didn't have a chance.

In the end I resorted to poison, I put in a couple of blocks of Raid - day 1 the blocks disappeared from the bin; day 2 I put in a couple more which were taken; day 3 the same, the rats came and carried it off down the tunnels. Day 4, I put in the poison and it was left there, they never came for it . They haven't been back since.

NecroSteve

What are you composting? If you put in anything animal-derived (meat, dairy, etc.) or cooked food, rats go mad for it.

bugsntinas

We compost the usual veg,egg shells are the main things nothing cooked etc.
So poison can be used that's good.
making another bin and was thinking ofputting it on concrete blocks sunk into the ground with 2inch stone all around.
Thanks for al the help/advice.

beer enigma

bugsntinas wrote: »

We compost the usual veg,egg shells are the main things nothing cooked etc.
So poison can be used that's good.
making another bin and was thinking ofputting it on concrete blocks sunk into the ground with 2inch stone all around.
Thanks for al the help/advice.

I had a problem with Rats and was told that they go for the egg shells, we stopped putting the shells in an the rats disappeared

Ophiopogon

If you are using the compost bin to avial of the compost then don't omit the eggshells as they are a good source of calcium for the soil. Just work on making the bin itself rat proof.

evilmonkee

You definitely shouldn't use poison if you intend to use the compost for any fruit / veg or near anything edible. Yes, poison can remain and can make you sick.

Rats / mice hate garlic, so I suggest getting a large amount of garlic powder and using that, in and around any entrances they may have. Although, I'm not sure how good that is if they are already in the compost - it is a great deterrent though.

bugsntinas

Cheers for the advice all.

ShaunC

evilmonkee wrote: »

You definitely shouldn't use poison if you intend to use the compost for any fruit / veg or near anything edible. Yes, poison can remain and can make you sick.

Rats / mice hate garlic, so I suggest getting a large amount of garlic powder and using that, in and around any entrances they may have. Although, I'm not sure how good that is if they are already in the compost - it is a great deterrent though.

No way man, you're raving mad. You're thinking of vampires.

bugsntinas

Made meself another bin over the weekend out of old pallet planks.it is wrapped with chicken overlapping at the bottom.then in the bottom from the inside i have placed concrete blocks with the gaps filled with earth so the worms can get up into the compost.all around the outside i have built up a layer of 2inch stone so hopefully that'll do the job.

dm1388

i started to use wheelie bins for the compost, seems to work very well

bugsntinas

dm1388 wrote: »

i started to use wheelie bins for the compost, seems to work very well

Keep an eye on the bins as my old comp bin is plastic and thet chew right thru it.