My wife keeps putting bits of bread crust on to my compost heap.

Should I put an end to this outrageous behaviour, or will it not be that
much of a problem?

Thanks

Andrew

Andrew wrote:
:: My wife keeps putting bits of bread crust on to my compost heap.
::
:: Should I put an end to this outrageous behaviour, or will it not
:: be that much of a problem?

The bread probably won't be much of a problem, given that it's mostly plant
materials to begin with and it will be broken down (by the bacteria and
worms etc), into compost with the rest of it.
The *real* problems are with rats - they *will* find it and will rapidly set
up home, breeding like the proverbial wildfire on an unlimited diet of free
bread - I can vouch that a plague of rats in the garden is no fun at all,
they have eaten most of our fence (huge holes big enough to fit a mans head
through) and it now resembles a...large holey fence, they have gnawed their
way through: three greenhouse doors, two solid wooden garden gates, at least
five sections of 4X2 timber which was part of the greenhouse and the glass
has now slipped into the space they have made, they have dug tunels all over
the garden and even dug their way under a concrete fence into next doors,
like shit in a feild, they are everywhere, they can successfully get food
out of traps( I swear to god they have started to use 'tools' to do this - I
have found traps 'sprung' with small sections of bamboo canes in them and
the bait missing...) and I have spent a small fortune on poison all to no
avail, oh and they *can* jump at least six feet from the ground - I 'sealed'
the greenhouse all over and stil they got in but had trouble getting back
out, (they tried tunneling in each corner) the only hole was in the roof, 6'
6" off the ground.


--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.

Andrew wrote in message
...
My wife keeps putting bits of bread crust on to my compost heap.

Should I put an end to this outrageous behaviour, or will it not be that
much of a problem?

Thanks

Andrew


Hi Andrew,

I agree with the others; rats are the only serious problem attached to this
activity.

I'm sure your wife has a kind heart and, if encouraged, would put these
scraps out for the birds. If the birds don't take the crusts within a
designated time, remove the bread, putting more out next day. That way, the
rats won't get an opportunity.

You're obviously passionate about your compost heap, but I doubt it warrants
so much domestic strife!

Spider

In article , Spider
writes

I agree with the others; rats are the only serious problem attached to this
activity.

I'm sure your wife has a kind heart and, if encouraged, would put these
scraps out for the birds. If the birds don't take the crusts within a
designated time, remove the bread, putting more out next day. That way, the
rats won't get an opportunity.

It's not particularly good for birds, so I wouldn't recommend that.

I wouldn't have thought a tiny bit of bread would be a major attractant
to rats. If it's a large amount, then maybe you could consider
developing a liking for summer pudding, bread sauce, or the Iberian
practice of thickening soups with breadcrumbs ;-)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"