In article ,
"Cat" writes:
| Gasp!
| I was turning my compost bin over the week end, and four rats ran out of
| it...
| I was warned not to put any cooked or meat based organic stuff in the bin,
| and have been careful not to.

That is an old wife's tale. It makes no difference whatsoever.

| Is some of what I am putting in at fault? Is the fact that my compost is
| too wet part of the problem? I have added shredded newspaper this w/e to
| try and mop up the wet.

No.

| Fortunately, my box is at the very end of the garden, and therefore not near
| the house - so no danger of rats moving in. Still, I would like to do
| something about it, but am a bit at a loss...

Turn the heap over or get the rat man in.

| I should say that the land beyond our back boundary - against which the
| composter backs - is wasteland which may well have its own rat population,
| although I am only surmising this.

That is the reason. As crops are harvested and winter sets in, they
move into compost heaps in search of warmth and food.

| So not only do I need to get rid of the current inhabitants of my bin but
| I'd need to make sure I am not attracting any more.

There is nothing, precisely nothing, that you can do to ensure that.
They are attracted by the warmth and the worms, both of which are
essential aspects of a compost heap.

| I did turn the compost reasonably thoroughly this w/e, so that the grassy
| goo is more homogeneously spread - perhaps rats are not keen on a gooey
| home?

They will go once disturbed, anyway. Temporarily.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.