Help -rats in my compost

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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on March 1, 2014 at 16:24

Hello Maddy, have a look at http://www.haringey.gov.uk/pestcontrol. There is lots of advice but unfortunately it does look like there is a charge. Let me know if I can help further.

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Permalink Reply by Mavic Starfish on March 1, 2014 at 16:37

I had the same issue and got rid of the compost bin,, it's all collected now by veolia. I did see a compost ball on the internet at over£100, so all the food is inside a big plastic ball and by turning it over every so often it decomposes quickly. Just couldn't be dealing with vermin in the garden

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Permalink Reply by Finsbury Park Ranger on March 1, 2014 at 16:42

Maybe get a womery for anything the rats might like as a longer term solution ?

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Permalink Reply by Geoff Amabilino on March 1, 2014 at 17:27

We dealt with this by digging down around the compost bin and setting in a few layers of old bricks that they couldn't tunnel through to get in.  You would need a good lid.

We didn't have a nest. I would favour a fairly robust approach to a possible nest - lift compost out carefully, see if anything is there.  If there isn't, fine. Otherwise retreat and choose your weapon...

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Maddy on March 1, 2014 at 17:58

Thanks, I read on the internet to soak it with the hose for a couple of hours, to make it as damp and inhospitable as possible and drive them out (or drown them?) - so I've had a go at that. It's the first time in 20 years I've had this problem, and after such a wet winter it's surprising how dry the compost is.

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Bailey on March 1, 2014 at 17:57

Please, please, PLEASE don't put poison down. The rats die a slow painful death, and are then eaten by pets such as cats, as well as foxes and owls, who suffer secondary poisoning and also die a horrible slow agonising death. 

If rats have moved into your compost, then it is because it is too dry and doesn't heat up enough. A well turned and aerated compost heap will heat up to 65-70 degrees... far too hot for rats to live comfortably, and this is also the ideal temperature if you want to kill any weeds, seeds or diseased plants in your compost effectively.
I'd recommend doing some research on composting- how to get the right mix of brown and green composting materials, the optimum moisture and how often to turn it. If you get your composting technique right, then you won't see any more rats in there.

In the meantime, if you want this rat family to move out, point a hose into your compost bin and give it a really really good soak. They won't want to stay living in a wet pile of mush and will move off elsewhere. 
Then start your compost bin again, but with the correct technique, and block up any gaps that allowed them to get in.

 

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Permalink Reply by Grant on March 1, 2014 at 21:35

This happened to me recently, except I didn't realise there was a rat in there until I was turning the heap. When Roland shot out it was such a shock I'm afraid he ended up on the end of my garden fork...

Rachel is quite right though - get the compost working properly and rats won't be a problem.

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Permalink Reply by Maddy on March 2, 2014 at 11:19

Well, as I said, I've been doing it for twenty years, producing very good compost and never attracting rats - so not quite sure what went wrong this time. I'll stop feeding it for a while, to make sure they've gone, and then start from scractch.

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Permalink Reply by OneWomanAndHerDog on March 2, 2014 at 14:29

Hi Maddy.

I suspect the water-logged soil has driven them above ground. The hose pipe trick should work.

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