[julietmaria]

I recently moved my black plastic compost bin to a different spot.  One day when I was putting more stuff in I noticed a rat run out of a hole it had burrowed under the bin.  I tried to block of the hole and this didn't work.  About a month ago I put down some poison and that has not worked either.  Now whenever I go to my bin there are about 3 holes up through the compost and most of the new kitchen waste I have been adding is gone. ( I never put cooked food in by the way).  Today I noticed there was some faeces on the top of the compost.  I presume they were from the rats, they were oblong and brown and shiny    My Mum freaked me out by saying I could not use the compost on my veg plots if the rats were in it, especially if I had put down rat poison as they would wee and poo in it and there would be disease.  It is so annoying because for the first time in my life I have really good compost.  I suppose it will be fine to use on the garden plants that we won't eat.  Anyway my questions really are:
1 - can I use the compost on  my veg plot?
2 - How do I keep the rats out ( I don't really want to poison them again as I feel bad about that method!)

Many thanks
Juliet

[joyfull]

I have weldmesh underneath my darlek composters to stop rats getting in 

[Kajazy]

Have you tried siting the bin on a square of wire mesh? I think the most straightforward way with these wily beggars is to prevent them physically from being able to enter. You might like to run the mesh a way up the sides of the bin too, just to be sure!

[julietmaria]

Hi, thanks for replies, do I run the wire up the inside or outside of the bin?
Juliet

[kegs]

Or you could put them on paving slabs.

[DD.]

That stops all those nice worms getting in.

[joyfull]

No if you have the darlek type then just sit the darlek on a a sheet of the weldmesh which you have placed flat on the ground (making sure the mesh is bigger than the base of the bin). Worms can get in through the holes but rats cant 

[bigben]

I had the same problem last year and had to sink my bin that had previously just been on top of the soil.

Put something down to fork the compost onto.
Empty the bin,
Dig down so the bottom of the bin is sunk and put any mesh you have under it and wrap it upwards so stop them digging up.
Then shovel the compost back into the bin.

I have heard that keeping it wet tends to discourage them from living in it but they will still eat stuff.

[DD.]

No if you have the darlek type then just sit the darlek on a a sheet of the weldmesh which you have placed flat on the ground (making sure the mesh is bigger than the base of the bin). Worms can get in through the holes but rats cant 

I'm talking about the suggestion of sitting them on paving slabs, Joy.

[joyfull]

sorry DD my reply was in answer to this:-

Hi, thanks for replies, do I run the wire up the inside or outside of the bin?
Juliet

[TheSpartacat]

I have my dalek bin on slabs and the worms found their way in without any problems. There's a half centimeter crack between the slabs that i guess is large enough for a worm to pass, but not large enough for a rat...

(A crowd of worms seem to hang about just under the lid too, have to keep knocking them back in... worms are better climbers than i ever expected!!)

Sorry to hear about your compost. Frustrating, I'm sure... Does anyone know how long before its useable for growing again? Or is it done for?

(I just had a wee google and it appears Weils disease doesn't live long outside of the host... thats promising... plus knowing how common rats are, i don't doubt they dance between the potato furrows plopping everywhere anyway...)

[JayG]

Suspect no-one would be rash enough to say exactly how long any pathogens in rat poo might live, but I have read "for 1 week in air and 3 weeks in water", also found this which may be reassuring.

As for keeping rats out of a dalek, I've got 3, 2 stood on paving slabs with small gaps, and one on solid concrete. All 3 have loads of worms, although I couldn't tell you how they got into the third one! (Possibly chucked in with some weeds, and as Spartacat says they like to lurk under the lid in certain conditions too.)

[TheSpartacat]

I found this info as well which might add more reassurance:
http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/Documents/Rats%20in%20compost.pdf
(i dunno how to make the link small and fancy like JayG did) 
So, harrogate council reckons just stick to wearing gloves for hygiene and there's virtually no risk of disease?

[savbo]

... It is so annoying because for the first time in my life I have really good compost. ...

I have a suspicion that there may even be a link between the two - I had the same prob about 6 years ago, and my compost was never as well turned, never as well chopped-up-into-little-bits, as when it had some rats using it...

ALSO - I don't think paving slabs have any deterrent effect on the best worms for compost, Brandlings - they love hard surfaces in my experience

[kegs]

We've got 5 dalek bins, all on slabs, with lots of worms.