In article ,
Cat wrote:

Pete the Troll masquerading as:
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
.. .

If you have a large number of rats you must cut out ALL foodstuffs
from the compost. One rat doesn't make a plague.

NO DON'T use poison anything, completely unnecessary and a danger to
all wildlife.

Rats are everywhere. It's the human ones you want to be concerned
with, especially the prats giving dodgy advice here to kill, kill,
kill all wildlife in the garden.

I have no particular desire to endanger wildlife or neighbours' pets, nor
even to kill the rats if I can get them out of my compost heap by other
means. If disturbing them suffices, if turning the heap more frequently
than I have so far, excluding any foodstuff, etc. does the trick, I'm all
for it.
But I don't relish harbouring rats on my premises, and if it is the only
way, I would even consider forgetting about the compost heap altogether.

That was Pete the Troll, not me. Ignoring him is essential, even when
he posts apparently sane advice.

You WILL have rats passing through your garden. Live with it. You
can avoid harbouring rats by either disturbing them (e.g. by turning
the heap whenever they appear) or by poisoning them. But, if there
is anywhere to shelter, or any food (INCLUDING worms), rats will be
there and may take up residence. Abandoning a compost heap won't
prevent rats.

You can discourage them, but no more.