Cat wrote:
:: 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.
:: The following is what goes in:
:: Grass clippings (possibly a little too much, as it is a bit wet
:: and yukky at the moment)
:: Shredded paper (newspaper and other, but not glossy paper)
:: Kitchen waste (veg peelings, stale bread, and such)
:: Shrub/tree clippings
:: Weeds

The only things to interest rats in this lot is the bread..they already have
an ample (and free) supply of all vegetable products, so there's nothing
much in that department of any interest to them...cut out the bread and
watch them disappear!


:: 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.
:: 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...
:: 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.
:: 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.
:: 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?
:: I really do not know what to do... help!

It doesn't matter how gooey it is, they aren't living there - just feeding,
remove the food source and they will forage elsewhere.