Composting and rodents

[BooseysMom]

Now that we finally have our own garden, I've been busily composting using a big plastic open bottomed bin. We had one from the council but wanted a bigger one with easier access so spent about £30 on a new one. We had rats in the last one so completely dismantled it and spread the compost over a border. (Not veg patch). Before I knew anything about the diseases rodents spread, I was using the compost in my veg boxes. There was a mouse inside the bin on top of the contents the other day and I found a tunnel underneath. The hantavirus has scared me enough that I'm going to have to abandon the whole thing. What do other people do to prevent rodents?

It’s squirrels that are the main pest in our garden. I paid crazy money for a metal bin that I shipped from Canada. It’s great though and no rodent issues!

We had this issue.Our open bottomed bin sits on sturdy wire mesh so the worms can get if and it can drain but mice can't get in.

We only seem to have Hedgehogs 🥰

We've done away with composting bins and bird feeders because of rats.
Sad but we just couldn't make the alternatives work.

Thanks for the replies. I don't really want to do away with feeders or composting as I love both. My DH said his dad always had an open-topped bin and mice/rats must have got into that. I think that using thick wire mesh is a good idea. Ours is plastic and we'd have to get that attached to the bin somehow.

I wish we had hedgehogs. I keep asking DH if we could have a hole in the fence. Next door has a hedgehog house but is far too tidy for wildlife. But we leave an area of lawn unmown and we've got a log pile which would be good for them to hibernate

Exactly. You don't have to attach it to the bin @BooseysMom , just stand the bin on the mesh, and the weight of the compost plus bin seals it down.

Keep the compost moist at all times - water it in summer - and rodents will keep out. They want somewhere dry.

Don't put any cooked food or eggshells in the compost bin, these are a magnet for rodents. No bread.

I have 2 large plastic open bottom compost bins and have never had rodents. They're around, we have them in the garage, but with the above precautions they keep out of the compost bins.

I've given up on composting for this reason.

FictionalCharacter
Thanks so much. This has given me some hope! It's a completely open bottomed bin though so I think they would still tunnel in somehow. I'll ask DH. I thought of investing in a metal dustbin type bin but they're expensive. I used to put egg shells in but have stopped now. I never put in cooked food but I think they must be attracted by the rotting fruit that goes in. There was a mouse sat on top of it recently when I looked inside!
I admit I never water it so will start doing that.
Thanks again.

I've composted for 20 years and at one point had compost bins in 14 different gardens and plots.

I had one rat, once, and that was when I put in fermented wine mustings, at my allotment. I moved the bin, forked the stuff in it back into a different area and it never came back.

The other time I knew of a rodent in one of my bins was after handing it back to the school and the staff put a loaf of bread in it.

Compost non cooked food and mix the browns and the greens when you put stuff in it, turn it regularly and you should be fine.

We have a hotbin and I use that for compost. We’ve never had any problems with it.

Thanks for this. Useful stuff! I've just gone out and turned it over and watered it too. I can see the hole at the side the mouse has made getting in. It's mostly dried grass in there so kind of feel sorry for the little beggar destroying his nice warm nest! But saying that, I can't find an actual nest unless it's well hidden. I have taken a photo of it. I'm thinking of putting wire mesh underneath that prevents rodents but still allows worms access. The thing is the door at the front would still be accessible to them as it doesn't fit tightly. Maybe there's a way of lining the whole thing with the mesh.

You are not going to be able to stop all sorts of beats getting into your compost, compost literally is poo from probably thousands of different beings, and fungal decayed material.

A few mice will not affect it in the slightest.

Thanks. Yes that's what DH says. His dad had an open compost bin for decades and noone ever died! It's all this in the news about the hantavirus that made me wonder.