silly composting question

[magz.mccarthy]

hi,

i read somewhere before (probably here) that it's possible to compost in the large bags that builders use to carry cement/sand etc. you know the big white cube material bags with the hoops for a fork lift to pick up? Well lo and behold didn't i find one in my shed when i cleared it out (thanks previous owner), so i'm going to give it a go. i have a shaded weed patch under a tree where i'm not going to grow anything so was thinking of putting it there and just putting in cuttings and veg scraps (raw).

my question is this: is it likely to draw rats/foxes? I'm going to cover it with either an old compost bag weighed down with a few bricks, or a scrap of carpet, but will the breathable nature of the bag leave out tasty veggie smells to wild animals and encourage them to gather? I'm not in a hurry to get compost, but don't want to cause problems for me and the neighbours either.

margaret

[Capsid]

Those bags are quite sturdy and should prevent rats, but it will still attract rats. It's inevitable that there are rats around humans, a compost bin will simply provide the evidence that they are there whereas before you would have been oblivious to their presence. If you keep the compost wet then this will detract the rats from nesting there. Apart from laying poison that is the most you can do.

[magz.mccarthy]

urgh gross nesting rats. Will keep it wet and hope for the best! at least we're not in a more tropical country with problems like nesting lions eh?

[bobleponge]

Tell me about it!!!

[bobleponge]

But I agree with what Capsid has said. No matter what you make compost in, it will attract wildlife. If you are sure that there are no cats/hedgehogs etc that use your garden (difficult to know) then you can use rat poison, but the chances are you wont see more or less than anyone else who has a compost heap.

[Two_Sheds]

People worry that having a compost bin could attract rats. However, this is not the case. There are many reasons why rats may be already in the vicinity of your garden. For example if you live near water, farm land/open countryside or derelict buildings, you are likely to have rats living around the local area. They may be attracted into your garden, like other animals, to look for a dry place to shelter or to find food. One common source of food is leftover food on birdtables and on the ground.

A rat is only likely to seek out a compost bin in the garden if incorrect waste items have been composted, making the bin a source of food as well as a shelter. For this reason you should not compost cooked foods, eggshells, dairy products, meat, fish or bones, or cooked food like bread/cakes/biscuits. Recycle now - Rats have been inside my compost bin. Is this compost safe to use on my garden?


Compost bins will only become feeding stations for rats and mice where a vermin problem already exists.
You will not be attracting more rats into your garden by composting, but the compost bin/
heap maybecome an additional feeding ground on an existing well used rat-route.
More info on rats & compost heaps here: http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/pdf/Rats%20in%20compost.pdf

[ixi1456]

For this reason you should not compost eggshells [/url]

Well you learn somthing new every day i use a lot of eggs and have been putting them into the bin with all the rest of the peelings will just crush them up from now on and use as a slug deterrent...

[NOG]

You must crush egg shells. otherwise witches will them to sail in to sink ships.

[DavidM31]

My neighbour had rats nesting in her compost bin and when she went out with some more veg peelings and took the lid off she saw them staring up at her. I thought there had been a murder there was so much shrieking going on.
However I do believe she had them already underneath an old shed that had been there for at least 20 years before so maybe they just found the free food a bonus.

[Claire72]

I always thought you were supposed to compost egg shells too, it is in my composting leaflet???????

[BrideXIII]

I always thought you were supposed to compost egg shells too, it is in my composting leaflet???????

i always smash mine and compost em, my dad told me to.

[Rocketron]

i always smash mine and compost em, my dad told me to.

Yo tambien !

[Two_Sheds]

I know when my heap has got visitors, because the eggshells get dragged out of it - they like licking any egg white off the shell, it's all good protein.

I will continue composting eggshells, but I will smash them up first (and might even wash them too)

[Flummery]

I crush my eggshells too, before composting. Otherwise I find myself hoiking out half eggshells a year later!

[snakeshack]

these bags are also great for storing manure in while it composts, they can be topped with topsoil and used for pumpkins sqash etc and emptied out and spread at years end.
or use the bag for growing spuds maybe, anybody tried this as they are only a larger version of the spud bags which are so popular now