Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:44:28 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi


If you keep the bucket sealed, you will have anerobic bacteria as the
only thing causing decomposition. That won't smell too good.

What are you putting in the compost? Bugs usually won't bother with
yard wastes.

Mostly yard waste...I was just worried about the eggshells, coffee grounds
and veggie matter.
Cindi

"Paul Below" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:44:28 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches,
ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi


If you keep the bucket sealed, you will have anerobic bacteria as the
only thing causing decomposition. That won't smell too good.

What are you putting in the compost? Bugs usually won't bother with
yard wastes.

On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 21:22:18 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote:

Mostly yard waste...I was just worried about the eggshells, coffee grounds
and veggie matter.
Cindi


You might want to research worm composting. If you have a bucket that
you are composting in now, and you have kitchen waste that you don't
want to put out in the yard because of vermin, then worms might be the
answer.

You mentioned sealing the bucket. I just did some serious reading on
composting since I am about to start on it myself. They made it very clear
that ventilation was a must. Do you have holes drilled or cut all the way
around your bucket, providing lots of airflow? If not this is most likely
your problem as the material I read says poor ventilation will cause the
compost to smell terribly, it will not compost properly (uniformly) and it
can attract insects and pests due to the odors. Coffee grinds, eggshells and
the like should be fine, but never put any animal by-products (bones, bad
meat, etc.) in your compost, this is a sure way to attract pests. Beyond
this I cannot say, still new at this myself, but just relaying some of the
tip I've picked up from the reading I've done.


"Paul Below" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 21:22:18 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote:

Mostly yard waste...I was just worried about the eggshells, coffee
grounds
and veggie matter.
Cindi


You might want to research worm composting. If you have a bucket that
you are composting in now, and you have kitchen waste that you don't
want to put out in the yard because of vermin, then worms might be the
answer.

In article , "Thomas
Neumayr" wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches, ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi

Jeeze, where do you live???

Rats, roaches and ants won't bother a cooking compost heap. The bucket is just
for your kitchen, to save stuff that you dump into the pile out in your yard.
Don't throw meat, bones or fish in the compost -- just veggies, weeds, paper,
hair cuttings (great N source, dog hair counts), coffee grounds, egg shells and
stuff like that. The web has a wealth in info on composting on it.

Jan

My first husband used chicken wire, I think. He stapled it to a frame (say
4'x 6') just to keep the the material confined. He turned it occasionally
as it "cooked". We only added organic matter (grass clippings, garden
waste, things like that). It NEVER had an odor.

I don't think a totally enclosed vessel is the way to go...can't get any
air.


"Jan Flora" wrote in message
...
In article , "Thomas
Neumayr" wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches,
ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi

Jeeze, where do you live???

Rats, roaches and ants won't bother a cooking compost heap. The bucket is
just
for your kitchen, to save stuff that you dump into the pile out in your
yard.
Don't throw meat, bones or fish in the compost -- just veggies, weeds,
paper,
hair cuttings (great N source, dog hair counts), coffee grounds, egg
shells and
stuff like that. The web has a wealth in info on composting on it.

Jan

I've composted for several years...would grab some bags of leaves from
peope's trash or a few bales of hay or whatever for bulk, then feed into it
all my kitchen scraps (minus meats, milks, bones, grease).

One time it smelled bad for a couple of days: I made a new pile almost
solely out of grass clippings. It got *HOT* fast but it stunk for 3 days.
Only time in couple of years I've had that problem and it wasn't from the
food :)

One time I had animals get into/onto it: I had some big piles of leaves I
was trying to compost over winter so I covered them with these huge plastic
bags to hold the heat in. One of the neighborhood cats used to come sleep on
top of the plastic because it was so warm with the pile slowly cooking
inside. We did have rats and possums at this house but neither of them
bothered the pile even though I'd bury a big bowl of kitchen scraps in the
pile every two to three days.

hth,
John
Austin, Tex

"Lynn F. Russell" wrote in message
. ..
My first husband used chicken wire, I think. He stapled it to a frame
(say
4'x 6') just to keep the the material confined. He turned it occasionally
as it "cooked". We only added organic matter (grass clippings, garden
waste, things like that). It NEVER had an odor.

As others have said, you don't want to compost in a sealed container. I
don't like egg shells in my compost because they don't contribute anything,
except the appearance of eyeballs. They're not really organic--calcium
cabonate, I believe. I dry egg shells in oven after cooking things in it,
and then grind them up and put them around plants that like lime (e.g,
hostas, asparagus, probably most vegetables.)

--
Compostman
Washington, DC
Zone 7
"Thomas Neumayr" wrote in message
. ..
Mostly yard waste...I was just worried about the eggshells, coffee grounds
and veggie matter.
Cindi

"Paul Below" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:44:28 GMT, "Thomas Neumayr"
wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to gardening and wondered how all of you keep roaches,
ants
and rodents out of your compost heaps? My compost bin is very
low-tech...just a large bucket. Should I keep it sealed at all times?
Thanks for any and all comments,
Cindi


If you keep the bucket sealed, you will have anerobic bacteria as the
only thing causing decomposition. That won't smell too good.

What are you putting in the compost? Bugs usually won't bother with
yard wastes.