Rats in the compost

patty4150

18 years ago

I have used human urine on the compost in the past. I don't use it routinely. It's a hassle sometimes.

I have rats in the compost. Would human urine deter them?

Comments (8)

ericwi
18 years ago
I'm not sure that human urine would deter rats. However, in my experience, having large quantities of shredded leaves in the compost pile makes the pile un-interesting to critters, including rats.
gonefishin
18 years ago
Not only that, if the pile is kept moist as a damp, wrung out sponge, rats will not find it hospitable as a place to hang out or nest and raise young. If any interesting food scraps are buried pretty deeply in the pile, there will not be much in the way of odors to attract them.
We had a pretty bad invasion of them last spring and fall, but I did not see any evidence of them around my compost pile. There was some in and around my sheds and a couple of them even managed to find a way into my attic, but some rat poison pellets in little packets from the feed stores took care of those problems pretty quickly and safely with no danger to our dogs and cat. It was NOT DeCon, I think that they just get fat on that. ":^)
Bill P.
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Hi loribee, I'm in a situation similar to yours because I live in a densely populated urban area and, although I haven't had any rats in my compost pile yet, it's bound to happen if I'm not careful. I use a separate 40 litre plastic barrel for my food scraps (that's about 10 gallons) and it works out just fine for me. What I do is that I fill it up to three-quarters with fluffy browns of the tough-ish sort (shredded leaves, wood shavings, or equivalent). Then I add my kitchen scraps as they come and I give it a shake every time. I do take the time to cut them up a bit -- nothing too fancy, I just don't thrown whole fruit or veggies in there. I find the size and weight convenient as well, it's only when the barrel is very full after 6-8 weeks that I have trouble shaking it up or kicking it around. When it gets too full I wait for a few days until the last scraps decompose (and until my kitchen pail is overflowing!) and dump the lot on the outdoor compost pile, and then I start over. I drilled a few tiny holes in the bottom for draining, but I don't get any leachate. The trick is not to add any extra water, except in the very beginning when you moisten the browns. The kitchen scraps will provide all the moisture it needs. Also, if your browns are nice and fluffy when you start out, you don't need a gazillion holes on the sides for aeration -- I have just a dozen holes or so, but I do open the barrel once or twice a day to throw stuff inside and shake it, and it smells quite nice. Of course being in Athens I have the weather on my side. The temperature hardly ever falls below freezing and my barrel is standing in the sun, so it stays warm even in the winter. What little I know about California tells me that it shouldn't be too different over there, so maybe this system can work for you too. My two drachmas :) PS: Watch out for zombie rats!
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squeeze
18 years ago
urine won't deter them, and if there's food waste in the pile nothing will discourage them once they find it - moth balls do mask odors from the pile and if you can spread them around enough, will keep rodents at bay

as BillP mentions, if there's rats in the area it's a good idea to keep bait paks or traps around during spring and fall because that's when they're on the move looking for new feeding grounds or nesting sites

Bill
pablo_nh
18 years ago
I would build a compost bin that they could get into, but not out of.

Hey- rats are a good green :)
dchall_san_antonio
17 years ago
We got three cats and in one night our 10-year running battle with rats went away.
plantermunn
17 years ago
Did you say rat.

{{gwi:273893}}
trancegemini_wa
17 years ago
patty we have always had a terrible rat problem in my area so I use compost bins and I twist them until theyre slightly dug into the ground at the bottom. Ive only had rats dig their way in to a bin once in 8 years. Id suggest setting up a separate contained bin for your food scraps etc and keep the pile for garden waste. if there is a food source around the rats will find it and once they have a good food source they wont be going anywhere and theyll hang around to breed
tiffy_z5_6_can
17 years ago
We used to have them in a shed attached to the house where we lived in the city, and this is what we did...

Take a large juice can. Drink the contents and remove one end completely. Place a freshly cracked egg - or remainder thereof - shell and all in the bottom. Lay the can on it's side with the bottom a bit lower than the top. Place a rat trap in front of the egg.

Rat wants egg? He has to go over the trap... SNAP!!

Place rat in compost as green.

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Rats in the compost

Comments (8)

ericwi

gonefishin

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squeeze

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