gavin wrote:
I've got one of those black plastic compost bin (looks a bit like a Dalek -
well, kin of!). I've just put some kitchen waste in and "something" was in
there! I'm sure I saw a tail slither away. Could it be a rat? There is a gap
at the base which a rat could easily get through. If it is a rat is this
"normal"?


I think you should report this to your local authority.They will send round
a pest control officer who is an expert in these matters.He can recognize
traces of rats without actually seeing one and take whatever measures
he thinks are necessary.
Do not leave any of your doors open until he gives the all clear.Rats will
be attracted by the smell of food and enter the house. Maybe they will
run
out again when you approach but they carry fleas which may jump off
in your house.Rats live in sewers and whatever the rat may suffer from
one bite from its flea and you've got it too.it is not a matter to be
complacent about (not that I'm saying you are) but I hope this alerts
you to the risk.The pest control service is completely free.
You should also have a think about the contents of your compost bin:
no cooked foods,nothing of animal origin whether cooked or raw,just
plain raw vegetable off-cuts,haulms from the garden,these should not be
so attractive to a rat.
I've got one of those bins,the big one,and earlier this year there was a
rat in mine.It did not come from my sewer because I had not opened it,
but he was round the neighborhood in other gardens too.I got the pest
control officer round; he actually saw the rat in my bin so he put down
bait.
When he returned the bait was gone. Nobody's seen the rat since
but I suspect there is a corpse under someone's shed,or in some dark corner.
Well there's plenty of other little creatures who will dispose of that.
It's just a rare "displeasure" of gardening,Gavin,but if you attend
to it as I have suggested you will probably never have the same trouble
again,
so please don't throw the bin out.
Yours in gardening,
Sam.