I've got a mouse in my compost bin...

[vicki lorraine]

it must be the time of year.
i also had a suprise when topping up my compost bin. Something had been tunnelling up inside. The tunnel looked too big for a mouse. So i assume it is a rat.
have turned the compost twice since and today i looked and the tunnel is back again.
Should i set a trap?

[pabenny]

Poison.
Traps are OK for mice but the conventional spring type can be tricky to set without snapping your fingers and you still have to dispose of the corpse. A rat trap is much bigger and can cause you serious pain.

Rats and mice tend to run along by walls, so this is the place to put your poison. For a rat you need quite a lot (several tablespoons). For both you need to check and replenish daily. If it isn't gone or at least disturbed within 24 hours, it's probably in the wrong place.

Both can also get through tiny spaces. Even though a mouse is (normally) about an inch around, they can get through a crack about a quarter of that.

[NOG]

Mice can get in any opening the diamater of a pencil. So I am told. If you have mice in your compost they will help turn it.

I have rats in one of my compost bins at the allotment. I just let them get on this it bit to bash it with the spade a few time before I dig it out.

Don't fancy one of them up my trousers. (Oh I sound like my misses now).

[TonyF]

Mice can get into very tiny holes - out here in the wilds, they're around all the time and although I get the odd thing munched, I work on the basis of a bit for them and a bigger bit for me. But the moggies keep the numbers down so I assume it's a natural balancing thing going on.

Here the ghekkos have started to appear as it's warming up - now they do move quickly, they're totally harmless and fearless, had one run over my hand a few days ago, frightened the bejesus out of me.

As for the rats, never seen one here tho I expect there are some around - if I wanted one I can get rat traps at the local equivalent of the Mole Valley Farmers shop, somewhere they sell things rural and for the farming community - try there or looking online for rat traps. Problem with catching them tho is what to do with them once you have them - we have a guy locally who takes them away and bumps them off I think.

[Bex]

Wouldn't really want to use poison as there is no guarantee that just the mice or rats will eat it. I've dug the compost over and so far the burrow hasn't reappeared. I will just have to keep an eye on it. From the replies it looks like its quite a common problem though. Phew, its not just me!