On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:29:38 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi


Keep it moist, well stirred, and well aerated and it will generate
enough internal heat to discourage critters. It was always fun to
drive by the huge heaps of ground up Christmas trees in Zilker park
and see the steam rising from those piles.

Do not keep it sealed (as in airtight) because you will encourage
anaerobic decomposition (anaerobic = "without air") which will smell
very bad and may even promote the growth of some bacteria you don't
want to be around.

Elliot Richmond
Freelance Science Writer and Editor