New member, 1st post, great thread. I have been battling rats for many years now and I always end up back here one way or another so I finally joined :) I feel for each and every one of you that has a mouse/rat problem. We are in a large city and we had rats in our old 1960s garage that was just storing stuff and an old project 4x4. Then we tore down and built new, no problems with rats for a couple years until I built a roofed outdoor storage area around 2 sides of the garage. With tires, truck parts, 2x4s rubbermaid totes it turned into a rats den. I started off with victor metal spring traps which were effective for a while but now all they do is act as a plate and are always empty with the bait gone. Upgraded to the plastic jaws ones, I really like these because there is a much better no touch factor when getting rid of carcass and rebaiting is alot easier and safer. However, these have also turned into the second entree and they are licked dry as well. Seems the only rats I have caught in the last little while were rats who were scurrying along the wall and walked over it lol. Now, Dec 2013 is the next upgrade, 2 electric rat zappers from amazon have just been set out 2 days ago. I sprinkles some assorted nuts and beans around to give them a free taste and convince them everything is safe. :/ crappy thing is, its so cold and the little buggers are off camped in someplace warm and I hope its not my attic (Fingers crossed its not my attic!!) Oh btw, we are changing out the old black compost bin that sits on the ground to a 55 gallon plastic drum DIY tumbling bin.Search google for it and theres many DIY tutorials. Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon rat zappers $32 each This post was edited by Metrogardener on Mon, Dec 9, 13 at 12:59

lilacs of may - I agree w/the "need more greens" opinions above (which is not to say that I disagree w/the "need more water" opinions - I just don't have an opinion about the water thing b/c my bin is in a container & I tend to have too much moisture more often than not). The way you described it - 1 thin green, 1 thick brown of mostly leaves - seems like it would take a real long time to decompose. I've noticed leaves in my bin take a long time, which I didn't expect. But, my bin takes a short time to decompose when I've used mostly garden/kitchen waste, intense greens (such as UCG/dried blood/alfalfa), and some browns such as (leaves/paper towels/napkins/shredded moistened cardboard) - IF I turn it ALOT (again it's in a bin so this might not be as crucial to your formula). Plus, I also find that we each have a preferred "formula" for our individual systems, lifestyles & area of the country. I've added below a link to my list of 201 Compost Ingredients, if you want to brainstorm about more "greens." BTW, we just got our first Starbucks (10 min away) - prior to that the nearest starbucks was 1 hour away & that was just in a bookstore. I am already collecting from a local coffee shop (actually, they were new about 2 yrs ago - pre-local-Starbucks - and I told them about Starbucks' habit of bagging & offering UCG for peoples' gardens & so now they're doing it! yippee!). And, actually, most of the UCG I gather go directly onto soil (under the store-bought pine/other bark/shredded mulch) or onto the grass. So, do it again this year & keep experimenting to see what works! polly in IL - that is BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for the pix! All the Best, Tree Here is a link that might be useful: 201 Compost ingredients

An inch of soil is an awful lot of soil and in reality is an unnecssary addition to a compost pile. Sir ALbert Howard wrote that an 1/8 inch of soil was necessary for compsoting in the belief that the soil provided trhe necessary bacteria to digest the material to be compsoted, however today many of us know that the bacteria that will digest what we compost is already present on the material. Sir Alberts compost pile had a ratio of 3 parts vegetative waste to 1 part manure or 6 inches of veggie waste to 2 inches of manure (manure was his source of Nitrogen). misture can be a tricky part of the process since nmot enough keeps the bacteia from working and too much excludes the air they need to work. The dry material should be just moist, about as moist as a well wrung out sponge, one that no more water will come out when squeezed tightly but feels somewhat moist. Perhaps this web site can be of some help. Here is a link that might be useful: Composting Tutorial

I have lot of room for a compost pile, but, I purchased 2 Compost tumbler single barrel tumblers. I emptied one last summer and used the compost in a few garden (veggie) plots. I never did empty the other. It is still full. That is fine, but the empty one fell apart after I emptied it. I can see that I need to replace a couple of the threaded rods that went horizontally from one end to the other. The length is not available in most hardware stores or the local big box store. I would have to buy a bigger length and saw it down and hope the end is smooth enough for the cap or nut to easily join up the end. I think if next spring gives me time to look for a nut that fits the rod on this barrel composter, It will be a miracle. I will be mad if I can't make the barrel composter fit together right again, but I think if you have enough land to move your garden plots around well enough, direct composting may be the best way. You make your mound in the eventual garden plot. The nutrients stay where needed. But with any compost pile, you may start out with a giant pile, but end up with a smaller pile.