I couldn't even think about throwing away vegetable matter, and everything goes in the compost bin.
However, we have rats nesting in it now, and although they don't really bother me, as the bin is way up the garden, and we live very near to a farm, and expect the odd little blighter, our rather posh next door neighbour noticed them whilst sunbathing in her garden the other day, and was mortified!!

She says she's not going to put up with rats, and has told us either to get rid of the compost bin, or she will call the council out to us.

Is there any way of 'spoiling' fruit and veg waste before putting it into the compost bin, so as not to attract rats, but that won't spoil the compost?
I would be very grateful of some help.

"19pandy56" wrote in message
...

I couldn't even think about throwing away vegetable matter, and
everything goes in the compost bin.
However, we have rats nesting in it now, and although they don't really
bother me, as the bin is way up the garden, and we live very near to a
farm, and expect the odd little blighter, our rather posh next door
neighbour noticed them whilst sunbathing in her garden the other day,
and was mortified!!

She says she's not going to put up with rats, and has told us either to
get rid of the compost bin, or she will call the council out to us.

Is there any way of 'spoiling' fruit and veg waste before putting it
into the compost bin, so as not to attract rats, but that won't spoil
the compost?
I would be very grateful of some help.




--
19pandy56


I recall having to keep the compost wet, so mice don't nest there, so I
would imagine the same would apply to rats. Maybe a call to the council from
yourselves will help, and keep neighbour sweet. I cant imagine you can be
prohibited from keeping a compost bin on your own property, but IANAL!

"Jake" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:00:08 +0000, 19pandy56
wrote:


I couldn't even think about throwing away vegetable matter, and
everything goes in the compost bin.
However, we have rats nesting in it now, and although they don't really
bother me, as the bin is way up the garden, and we live very near to a
farm, and expect the odd little blighter, our rather posh next door
neighbour noticed them whilst sunbathing in her garden the other day,
and was mortified!!

She says she's not going to put up with rats, and has told us either to
get rid of the compost bin, or she will call the council out to us.

Is there any way of 'spoiling' fruit and veg waste before putting it
into the compost bin, so as not to attract rats, but that won't spoil
the compost?
I would be very grateful of some help.

You say you've got a "bin" so I'm assuming that it's a plastic type
thing rather than an open heap. Rats do not generally go for compost
bins unless there's some non-vegetable matter there or if it's a dry
bin - if you've chucked the Sunday roast leftovers in there that will
attract them, of course. The golden rule is "no meat products" which
includes gravy on veg.

If there are rats in the area (you're next to a farm like me and we
get rats occasionally running through though not moving in with their
rent books), then the usual cause of them moving in to a compost bin
(apart from the meat-type attractions) is that it's too dry. So keep
it wet (as a guide, aim for something of the consistency of a sponge
before you squeeze the water out of it) to discourage them. A daily
soaking may prod them into moving on.

Otherwise, you need to take more drastic action - as a first step, you
could get some Renardine from your local garden centre and paint it
liberally around the outside of the bin - that may also discourage
them. If it doesn't, you'll need to tip the bin out (wear suitably
stout clothing and maybe get someone with a terrier to lend you the
dog!).

Then get some strong wire mesh and lay it on the ground under the bin.
Replace the bin over the wire and fill it up again.

Hope this helps.

Jake

When I had rats in my compost, I phoned the council
and the rat man gave them some food!

Colin

In article ,
Jake wrote:

You say you've got a "bin" so I'm assuming that it's a plastic type
thing rather than an open heap. Rats do not generally go for compost
bins unless there's some non-vegetable matter there or if it's a dry
bin - if you've chucked the Sunday roast leftovers in there that will
attract them, of course. The golden rule is "no meat products" which
includes gravy on veg.

Sorry, that meat myth is an old wive's tale. They go for the worms
in the compost, and meat remains makes damn-all difference (unless
you put the whole Sunday roast in there). They also go for a
useful place to make a nest, though that is less likely in a bin.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Where did she see the rats? Did she see them in your bin, or did she see them in the garden and jump to conclusions? Does she know that rats love to nest under sheds and under decking? and that they like eating spilled bird food? - does she have any of these in her garden?

I don't think you can easily treat veg waste. I suggest you call out the Council yourself. Our Council will deal with a "substantial infestation" for free. Then move the compost heap where she can't see it, or put up a fence between you and her. You can then tell her either that the Council has dealt with it, or the Council has told you that there is no problem.

Rats are a good deal more cautious than mice, and wary of disturbance, so you could try regular forking over of the heap. I wonder, too, what their reaction would be to very human-smelling urine on the heap - could be worth a try (just don't let your neighbour see that!)

In article ,
Jake wrote:

I manage several estates of offices and in one we had a major rat
problem - the rodent contractor put more and more bait boxes down but
the problem kept getting worse until I got the refuse contractor to
weld metal grilles over the drainage holes in the wheelie bins at the
end of last year so the rats cannot get in to the food waste inside.
This year the rat problem has miraculously disappeared. They're
opportunists at the end of the day.

Yes - but, in most of the country (i.e. suburbia), there is so much
surplus dog and cat food left out that opportunist food isn't their
main concern. In my garden, there is a perfect correlation between
a rat problem and one particular neighbour keeping dogs. Without
that, I can discourage rats just by turning the heap over.

More locally, a couple of years ago a neighbour saw rats in her garden
and went ballistic - knocking on doors almost daily to tell us to
beware. Turned out that she was throwing her after-meal waste in a
corner of her garden behind the shed. Once she stopped, the problem
disappeared.

That figures.

Mind you, last year she knocked on my door saying she had an adder in
her garden. Turned out to be a slow worm. She nearly fainted when I
picked it up to carry it away! Don't tell her that I've occasionally
had (real) adders in my borders!

They aren't exactly a problem, either.

With a big grin I leave it to others to debate whether the apostrophe
should be before or after the s in wives ;-)))))

I shall hang my head in shame and go and stand in the corner :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Jake
writes
I manage several estates of offices and in one we had a major rat
problem - the rodent contractor put more and more bait boxes down but
the problem kept getting worse until I got the refuse contractor to
weld metal grilles over the drainage holes in the wheelie bins at the
end of last year so the rats cannot get in to the food waste inside.
This year the rat problem has miraculously disappeared. They're
opportunists at the end of the day


I've got a bin called a Joanna which has a plate with holes in it
already built in to the bottom so that rats can't get in. When my dogs
were here i knew when the ordinary bins had a mouse or rat in it as they
waited until they caught them coming out! however I have never had any
problem with the Joanna bin though it is quite dear.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"kay" wrote
19pandy56;893565 Wrote:
I couldn't even think about throwing away vegetable matter, and
everything goes in the compost bin.
However, we have rats nesting in it now, and although they don't really
bother me, as the bin is way up the garden, and we live very near to a
farm, and expect the odd little blighter, our rather posh next door
neighbour noticed them whilst sunbathing in her garden the other day,
and was mortified!!

She says she's not going to put up with rats, and has told us either to
get rid of the compost bin, or she will call the council out to us.

Is there any way of 'spoiling' fruit and veg waste before putting it
into the compost bin, so as not to attract rats, but that won't spoil
the compost?
I would be very grateful of some help.

Where did she see the rats? Did she see them in your bin, or did she see
them in the garden and jump to conclusions? Does she know that rats love
to nest under sheds and under decking? and that they like eating spilled
bird food? - does she have any of these in her garden?

I don't think you can easily treat veg waste. I suggest you call out the
Council yourself. Our Council will deal with a "substantial infestation"
for free. Then move the compost heap where she can't see it, or put up a
fence between you and her. You can then tell her either that the Council
has dealt with it, or the Council has told you that there is no
problem.

Rats are a good deal more cautious than mice, and wary of disturbance,
so you could try regular forking over of the heap. I wonder, too, what
their reaction would be to very human-smelling urine on the heap - could
be worth a try (just don't let your neighbour see that!)

A number of you mention calling out the Council man, our Council does not
have a rodent man any more and just says call Rentokil (at your expense).

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

In article ,
Jake wrote:

I'll stand in the corner with you as I've lost track of the number of
times I've boobed on something or other. Glad you took the joke in
what I said ;-))

That indicates you are human :-)

You've got a point on suburbia but the OP and I both live next to
farmland (not suburbia in the accepted sense) and the issues are a bit
different.

Yes and no. It doesn't affect the main point, which is whether rats
are attracted to meat per se, or just regular food. My assertion
(and that of the rat catcher who used to deal with ours) is that it
is the latter. It really makes very little difference whether you
put meat scraps on the heap or in the bin, or not.

Adders aren't a problem for me - I'll find one or two in the garden
each year but leave them alone and off they go.

I haven't seen one in years, and I go walking in the Highlands most
years. I wouldn't actually pick one up, but they aren't really a
danger to humans.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
says...

I couldn't even think about throwing away vegetable matter, and
everything goes in the compost bin.
However, we have rats nesting in it now, and although they don't really
bother me, as the bin is way up the garden, and we live very near to a
farm, and expect the odd little blighter, our rather posh next door
neighbour noticed them whilst sunbathing in her garden the other day,
and was mortified!!

She says she's not going to put up with rats, and has told us either to
get rid of the compost bin, or she will call the council out to us.

Is there any way of 'spoiling' fruit and veg waste before putting it
into the compost bin, so as not to attract rats, but that won't spoil
the compost?
I would be very grateful of some help.




--
19pandy56

If its a closed bin then the best way is to stop them getting in, they
will tunnel under so it requires a bit of effort to keep them out,
unhappilly for you its not just your rotting veg peelings etc they are
after but the worms and there is realy no way of excluding worms indeed
they help make the compost heap work.

We used to have regular "break ins" but these have stopped completely now
the grass snakes have taken to nesting in the bins!

Personally I would put poison down for the rats you have and secure the
bin against future occupancy - oh and shoot your neighbour!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

In message , 19pandy56
wrote
However, we have rats nesting in it now,
, our rather posh next door
neighbour noticed them whilst sunbathing in her garden the other day,
and was mortified!!

Why are you letting your neighbour's posh rats live in your down market
compost bin?

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

wrote in message
...
In article ,
Jake wrote:


Adders aren't a problem for me - I'll find one or two in the garden
each year but leave them alone and off they go.

I haven't seen one in years, and I go walking in the Highlands most
years. I wouldn't actually pick one up, but they aren't really a
danger to humans.

Many years ago, about 60, I was cycling with a yha group on the south downs,
and I saw a snake, I picked it up and showed the group, they were not very
happy, neither was the snake, I threw it a long way off, and it just went
away, but I do suspect it might have been an adder!

Alan





Regards,
Nick Maclaren.