20-05-2004, 05:11 PM
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Kitchen waste compost and rodents/rats
(William Asher) wrote in message . com...
I live in Royal Oak, Michigan, a close-in suburb of Detroit. Recently
a handful of rats were detected in a one-mile square area in the north
end of my city. The city fathers (and mothers) were rightly
concerned, and took action. One of the actions was to ban composting
of all kitchen waste, because it was considered an attractant to
rodents.
I live 45 miles WSW of you, and I pre-compost kitchen waste in a trash
can (mixed with suitable brown stuff) before placing it in the compost
pile (the purpose, of course, is to make the stuff inedible and not
attract rats). I do see signs of rats, but they are concentrated
exclusively in my flower beds, due to the abundance of bulbs and ivy
ground cover. I have never seen a bite or a dropping in or around the
trash can. I am pretty sure you are safe with your machine. I suppose
my method would be at the edge of the ban, since the waste becomes
unrecognizable by the time I dump it in the pile (if you want to be
absolutely sure your stuff is gone by the time you dump it on the
pile, use two trashcans in rotation).
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