in being angry with dh for killing and poisoning?

[Spidermama]

I found a dead rat curled up in the compost bin. When I told DH about it he admitted that he knew there were rats down there so he put poison down the hole he found under the compost bin to kill them.

I'm upset, but he's angry that I'm upset. You see he reckons I should be pleased and grateful that the big hunter/warrior (him) has protected me and the kids from the terrifying invader (rats). However now there's a rat's body in the compost and who knows how many more in their hole.

He says he'll dig them out and sort out the bottom of the compost bin so no more holes can be dug in it but my point is, why didn't he do this to begin with? Then they'd have gone away because their food supply was cut off, surely.

Now we have poison in our garden and compost as well as dead rats.

So. AIBU? Or what?

We had a tupperware pot eaten overnight and teabags shredded so we went out and got a mouse trap. Heard a horrid 'snap' in the night and next morning braved coming downstairs and found a mouse with very big ears in the trap.

Later found out it was a rat

Where are the bleeding cats when this happens? Curled up in their lovely warm beds that's where

Ewww, I'd have thanked my husband for doing this, rats are vermin.

We had one once and it gnawed a HUGE bit of the kitchen door off trying to get in there. Vile.

now i can't get UB40 outof my head (there's a rat in me compost...etc

I don't know whether you're being nreasonable...
I'd hate to have to deal with the rat issue myself.
I'd be narked about the compost but, as someone else sad, would already be tained with rat excretions.
I'd be secretly thrilled if dh had tried to be a mighty hunter and protector (let's just say it doesn't come easily to mine )
But I also get the feeling that whatever he did would have been wrong, because you're having a sticky patch.

Right, I'd forget being narked at dh, and think practicalities (I don't know what was in my brekkie this morning - I'm proactive girl today for some reason!).

You need to find out how much poison he used, how much is likely to be on the compost, how much may be in other parts of the garden and how all this might affect pets, organic loveliness, oh, and the children! I doubt it will cause a serious problem to be honest.

IME the Centre for Alernative Technology in Machynlleth, mid Wales are the Gods of all things composty, but there must be tonnes of other advice out there (just tested that link and there's a 'compost doctor' on the front page!!). I remember something about how to avoid attracting rats to your compost heap - no cooked food was a biggie I think. But there are child and pet (but not rat!) friendly ways of catching rats as well - there are a couple in the yard of dd's nursery.

edam mentioned the National Poisons Unit - try them if you're still worried about health matters. My brother and I were rushed to hospital when we were little, I think I was about 4 and he was 6, as we'd eaten some grain that my dad thought may have rat poison on it (it was in the back of his pickup - he was a farmer at the time). I was given medicine to throw up as I'd only eaten a grain or two, but my bro had his stomach pumped as he'd eaten about a handful! I think they were just making sure.

Hope this helps. Feckin' hate rats! Eurgh, it's the tails! There should be a [shudder] emoticon thingy.

But wouldn't rat or any other kind of crap add to the organicness(?!) of the compost! It's all natural baby! I personally loathe them but I'll admit rats probably get a bad press.

I'd promise my dh a lifetime of sexual favours if he killed a Rat himself.

We had one earlier this year and the destruction it caused was unreal.
When the Rat man came out he failed to tell us that the poison actually makes them really thristy so the bloody thing bit through plasterboard into our kitchen and chewed its way through the dishwasher water pipe and the cable and flooded the kitchen

Rats are evil dirt vermin and must be destroyed!

I think that rat shit is better for compost than warfarin anyday. Having said that we have 2 pet rats and they are lovely. So I find it sad to think of any rats being killed and may not be an impartial judge.

Thanks songbird. Good thinking. I've been to that place near Machynlleth. In fact I'm going again this summer because we rent a cottage nearby. They are the compost kings.

Ah, I love it there. We live about 45 mins away so dh and I are seriously considering getting a season ticket this - it's such a lovely day out.