Rats in compost due for greenhouse (novice composter)

Hi everyone,

I was hoping for some advice on the following situation. I have erected a greenhouse with the aim of growing tomatoes, salads and beans straight from the soil with added home compost. Having only completed it in October and taken a break I have not yet cultivated the ground inside which is still grass.

At the same time I had an ambitious composting project at back of the garden, creating a big volume of what seems like good compost from kitchen scraps, beech leaves, cardboard. Unfortunately I neglected the pile in the month I was erecting the greenhouse, and I didn't notice some sneaky rats set up home there and turned the bin contents inside out / upside down! They seem to have tunnelled into it extensively and dragged a lot of the contents to the gaps between the bin and the garden fence where their tunnels entrances were.

I have driven the blighters off by turning and exposing the pile, and have seen no sign since. A simple question: would it still be safe to use the compost at all after their presence, especially inside the greenhouse where conditions may be more sensitive? It is a lot of (formerly) quality material to have to discard, but I certainly don't want to poison the family!

Any advice welcome

 

Hi,

You did the right thing in distrubing the heap to drive them away, also flooding the area with the hose pipe make it less desirable for them to return.

The question about their dropping etc is debatable, expect it would decompose like any other droppings, however if they have eaten any poison from elsewhere ( its can take a few days to act|) and then come back to your heap, then that another story.

I mistakenly used poison in my heap and they scattered it around and some of their dropping were blue coloured from the pellets, but no one, including the makers, could say how long it would take for the poison to break down.

To be sure, I buried mine deep in part of the garden that would never be used for food crops and unlikely to be distrubed in the near future.

 

Avoid food, especially cooked food scraps as that tends to attract rats and mice

 

Hello all. So sorry for the delay in responding. I was about to say zero cooked food and only vegetable peelings and tea ground. However that is not quite right: the kids pizza crusts and similar things would go in as would other bread items. No meat though. I should probably avoid bread from now on? Any other thoughts on how to make the result as safe as possible for greenhouse use? Part of me wants to chuck it all but that may be overkil....

 

Hmmm. This has got me thinking. I would imagine that most compost bins have rats checking them out at some time. At first I typed that I wouldn't use the compost with food but now I'm thinking that we must use compost where rats have been present.

Weils disease would be my main worry. Maybe worth checking how long this survives in soil and making a decision based on that.

 

The very first thought that came into my head when I started to read this topic was "something os wrong!" As I continued, two further thoughts came...

The first was in regards to kitchen waste. Thats not something that I put on my compost heap, for the simple reason, I dont know what it may or may not contain. In the word of today, lots and llots of various chemicals are used by farmers, food companies etc. to increase yield, and therefore profits. I dont want to run the risk of these getting into or onto things I dont eat, and much less things I do! So, in this case, I'm following the old saying, better safe than sorry.

The second was in regards to paper and cardboard on the compost heap. Whilst it is true that it degrades, there is one thing that troubles me. Effectively, what we are doing is recycling it into something that we consider useful. Google cardboard as compost, and the answer is always the same. Its ok to use it. However, there is one thing that 99,9% of people dont realise. In many countries, recycled cardboard is illegal to use in food packaging due to the suspicion it contains harmful chemicals and/or bacteria. Added to that, rats do seem to like it in their nests. Again, better to be safe than sorry. Incidentally, milk cartons, washing powder cartons, are NOT cardboard.

My own solution to the problem is be restrictive as to what is put on the compost, turn it regularly, and never ever cover it.

 

They must have bern very brave rats to try an steal your lunch. Were they tuna or salmon sandwiches, most rats like fish. My boys loved it

 

Sorry to disagree but I tip ALL our kitchen (food) waste into a plastic bin from the end of summer through to March. Then, when I dig my runner bean pit for the coming season, I line it liberally with newspapers and tip the bin's contents straight in, before refilling with the soil. Usually get a good crop. I did the same when I had a more orthodox open compost heap with the odd rodent rustle and never suffered any adverse effects.

 

Just to clarify, my runner beans grow in a one yard/metre circular pit (not a trench) that accommodates 24 plants. More than enough for the two of us and they grow up permanent 'sticks' that replace the ones my old Dad used to cut and deliver for 1/9d - in the fifties!