This last message has a noticeably arrogant tone.
We now live in Devon and have moles and badgers in our garden. Badgers have
now started excavating the lawn-for and our approach lane for earthworms,
moles live on earth worms and I have mentioned that in our clay they favour
cultivated ground or woodland rather than the lawn.
We have had rats or a rat in our shed. It ate some seed and broke into a bag
of bonemeal. Our neighbour has had rats in his donkey shed.
Given all this choice I have seen no evidence of rats in two large compost
heaps (4 cubic metre) -and as for them eating earthworms -pull the other
one!The compost heaps are in woodland adjacent to a paddock with stabling
for two horses.
Our farmer friend in Cheshire had three cats to keep down rats and called in
a professional ratcatcher every four years, so he knew what he was talking
about!
Regards
David T

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"gentlegreen" writes:
|
| They'll also invade if your bird table is next to the compost
container.
| They'll also use it for a place to stay even if food is elsewhere.
|
| I'm guessing this is the explanation for the rat hole found leading
down
| under the decking in the garden of a friend - ...

It is. An experienced ratcatcher told me that they invaded compost
heaps for shelter, warmth and worms - all of which are inseparable
from composting - and I can confirm that from my experience. It
is complete hooey that the cooked/raw status of food makes any
difference, and almost entirely so that the presence of small
amounts of meat scraps does.

If you are in the habit of putting whole legs of lamb or chickens
on the heap, you will attract foxes. Possibly cats and rats as
well, but definitely foxes.

Talking about such beliefs, we haven't had anyone claim recently
that a pyramidal shaped compost bin works better than a cylindrical
one. It's the energy flows, you know.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.