Rats

[Amazonmulu]

I've just gone to drop some bits in the compost bit and there was a rat in it!!!

A live rat! It ran off down a convenient tunnel it seems to have dug in and out of my compost bin.

What do I do??

Can't poison it as it may go in the bin and die and contaminate it. Can't just leave it.

Arrrggh! Any advice welcome

[JT05]

Most urban situations are inundated with rats. We gave up our compost due to the same problem. It was even in a plastic compost maker, they ate their way in.
Some people say don’t put cooked food in, but we didn’t and still got rats. They also feed on bird seeds and any food put out for small pets. Our next door neighbours had Small pets in runs, outside.

[Amazonmulu]

Ditto and ditto! Ours is in a plastic bin and we only put in egg shells, torn up card/paper, garden cuttings, and fruit and veg bits.

I'm going to try using an electric trap but there must be an endless supply of rats so it seems pointless :( I'm really disappointed but I will give it one go and see.

[JT05]

Interestingly, at our country holiday house there is no problem with the compost bins. It must be all the owls and hawks catching the rats.

[Cantspell2]

Stop putting out anything they can eat and they will move on. So no kitchen waste in the compost and give it a good soaking with the garden hose.

[Helena17]

Get some good mouse trap. There are those that can trap multiple rats in one night and you can get them in any online store or your local hardware. Don't leave any attractive leftovers as this would draw them back over and over.

[Amazonmulu]

Thank you for the advice!

[astonished19]

Take away their shelter, remove sources of food, remove any sources of water, and plant catnip, rats are supposed to really hate this plant. Plant catnip around areas in the garden that you really want to protect. ;)

[CasparBloomberg]

I can recommend a Jack Russell. Ours caught one in our bin shortly after we got her and now patrols it several times a day. Haven't seen any since.

[shhhfastasleep]

Thanks for this, was plotting and planning a compost bin but we have seen rats around so I won't.
I'd be heartbroken to encourage the sods even more.