Rats

Hi .. I have the same problem......i dont want to harm him.her.. but want it out of the compost bin....

I'm afraid I am not quite so sensitive as you, although I couldn't actually kill it, I just want it away from my bins!! I gave the other bins a good shake and hopefully, it has disappeared. It serves me right really for not turning it more regularly.

Put some rat poison( carefully placed so that only the rats can reach it)in place.They are making their nests there because it is nice and warm .They are probably feeding from adjacent bird table .This winter particularly, rats are in abundance near houses owing to the cold weather.

i agree with Wyeboy, we regularly put poison in a pot in the bins and they eat it and literally curl up and die in the bins. they then rot down in the bins. as they are well away from the house we dont notice any smell and they dont seem to attract flies either. I didnt fancy taking the dead ones and putting them in my normal bin.

Uuurgh! I can't say I blame you Sbg!!! I find it hard enough putting mice and shrew in the bin that my 2 cats bring home from the field next door in the mornings. (btw, I only allow my cats out after dusk and get them in by 7am every morning, just in case anyone gets offended by the fact I have 2 cats!) Strangely, neither of my 2 cats have ever caught any birds, even tho' they don't wear collars or bells. scratches head!

Craftnutter - I'm not offended you have two cats, but I am alarmed you only let them out at night - that is very dangerous for cats. Most cats killed on roads are killed at night and, in turn, cats do most of thier killing at night. They also are more likely to be a nuisance to your neigbours at night. It is better for the cats, the wildlife and the neighbourhood to keep them in at night and only let them out as late as possible in the morning. That's how I've always done it, that's what the Cats Protection League want everyone to do, and I know my moggies are safe and sound at night!

Sorry Judith - I have no idea how to solve your rat problem....only if there is a general rat problem in your neighbourhood then it might be worth involving Environmental Health from your local council.

Go with the chicken wire as a base. This lets worms and other little crawly's in but keeps rats out. Stop putting food out for birds on the floor. Also check bird feeders as I had a rat climb the metal pole and sit in the squirel proof feeder enjoying his lunch.

I have not seen mine since the summer. I say mine but they actually came from next door.

I would also suggest the chicken wire for the base and cut down on any bird food put on the ground.
I would not resort to rat poison apart from it being cruel it might inadvertently get into a food chain.

On a plus note having the odd rat around is quite beneficial as they love eating snails ..... mine has eaten loads this winter :-)

Thanks everyone - not keen on rat poison. Think I shall try the chicken wire. There are no bird feeders near the compost, but there is one near the house - I've seen quite a few mice nearby and frequently have them in the house, but I can cope with that. It's the rats I don't like.

I too have found a rat in my compost bin, during the very cold spell of weather that we had. Each time I go past my two bins I bang on the sides very loudly, in the hopes that the rat, if it is there now, gets the message. My neighbour keeps chickens and ducks, so I imagine that is where they are getting their food from. As to the comment about keeping the two cats in during the day and letting them out at night, I think that this is terribly sad for the cats. My neighbour does this and her cat comes through our catflap and terrorises our little cat to such an extent that I now have to lock the catflap and keep a spray bottle of water nearby to deter the creature. I am sure the neighbour's cat is just looking for somewhere warm and cosy to sleep on cold nights, but I do not want it lurking around my home during the night, waking up our household.

You need to find out where they are living and get a 'rat man' in to poison them. We had a family that took up residence under the shed. The 'rat man' came and put strong poison on long sticks under the shed (we have chickens in the garden) and they were gone within 2 weeks. The rats, not the chickens!!