Compost heap question

countrywoman

I started a compost heap earlier this year.
I was wondering if I should continue to add to it over the Winter? Or should I cover it? (Its a heap held in with pallets)

hirondelle

I would throw a sheet of plastic over the pile at this stage- if you have more material to add, just roll it back over after you have added it. There should be plenty of moisture in the pile at this stage, so letting the heat stay in over the winter speeds things up in my experience. Vermin can be an issue regardless of whether heaps are covered or not.
I'm a lazy composter so practice "no turning" composting- I leave each pile for two years and then dig out the finished compost, if you have the space it is just as effective and your lower back will thank you!

Doctors room ghost

Keep an eye on it for rats they do go in for food and heat

Hocus Focus

If you are careful not to allow any cooked food into your compost heap it should not attract rats. Also exclude any veg waste
that has accidentally been in contact with cooked food or bloody meat packaging etc.
During the grass cutting season add in moderate quantities of grass, but mix it in well so that it does not form a slimy layer. Woody stuff, like light hedge trimmings, is also essential,to balance the green stuff. You can lay out hedge cuttings, shrub prunings and other woody stuff and run the lawnmower over it to chop it up. Unbleached cardboard, from cartons, toilet roll cores etc., and egg cartons are all good too.

wildwillow

Rats are attracted to the heat regardless of whether you add cooked food.

They will overwinter in nice well drained raised beds or rockeries also.

Having no source of food is a deterrent but they will nest in warmth and travel for food.
A few well placed traps will keep numbers in check.

I use a wormery for kitchen waste.

Keep compost heap as far from the house as you can.

Hocus Focus

wildwillow wrote: »

Rats are attracted to the heat regardless of whether you add cooked food.

They will overwinter in nice well drained raised beds or rockeries also.

Having no source of food is a deterrent but they will nest in warmth and travel for food.
A few well placed traps will keep numbers in check.

I use a wormery for kitchen waste.

Keep compost heap as far from the house as you can.

So that's why I've been having a rat infestation in my polytunnel - no food or water there for them, but evidence of nest-building. I thought they were just coming in because they were attracted to the poison, and stopped putting it down. Must try traps again.

countrywoman

Thanks for all the replies. I have been absolutely meticulous about what I put in the heap. I always ensure that there are no crumbs near my feelings etc when I put them in. Also I've never put cooked food in. I assumed that would all be ok and not attractive to vermin.
I hadn't thought about them being attracted to heat. Now I'm scared! I would absolutely due if I saw a rat! Or a mouse!
I wonder should I look at the plastic compost bins?
Are there any you guys would recommend? I saw some online but recommendations would be well received

wildwillow

Don't let the rats bother you. If you have any garden or even open space, you will have rats. My driveway security lights are often set off by a rat on his or her nightly run and I have absolutely no food around.

You are doing everything right with the compost heap.
Cover it for the winter and come spring, remove cover and leave a day or two. Any rats or hedgehogs that may have overwintered will leave.
They won't bother you. Practice normal hygiene in the garden and always assume fruit and veg need washing.
Plastic and polysterene compost bins are very expensive and small. Easier to manage as you are.

Hocus Focus

countrywoman wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I have been absolutely meticulous about what I put in the heap. I always ensure that there are no crumbs near my feelings etc when I put them in. Also I've never put cooked food in. I assumed that would all be ok and not attractive to vermin.
I hadn't thought about them being attracted to heat. Now I'm scared! I would absolutely due if I saw a rat! Or a mouse!
I wonder should I look at the plastic compost bins?
Are there any you guys would recommend? I saw some online but recommendations would be well received

Stick with the pallets, they cost nothing, they're much more effective than those plastic things which could also harbour rats.

In a compost heap setting, the rats will be more scared of you than you are of them and will quickly disappear if they are disturbed. Bear in mind that, statistically, at some time every day, humans come within two metres of a rat.

Ms2011

Always worth having a second or even third bin so when one bin is full or ready to be used you can have another bin filling up, that's usually how I do things.

magicbastarder

have had two dalek style composters for seven or eight years, have never seen a rat in the garden, FWIW.

that said, there's mice living in the compost bin but they don't bother us.

Jim_Hodge

magicbastarder wrote: »

have had two dalek style composters for seven or eight years, have never seen a rat in the garden, FWIW.

that said, there's mice living in the compost bin but they don't bother us.

I too have dalek style and have never had rodents in any of them in over twenty years.

magicbastarder

might just be worth mentioning as well that we live in the suburbs, and the neighbours either side both have small dogs (corgi and a terrier) and there are also foxes, and cats in the area. how much affect this would have on potential rat problems, i don't know.

Hocus Focus

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

I too have dalek style and have never had rodents in any of them in over twenty years.

I had a dalek one and the rats ate a hole in the hatch at the bottom.
I found that digging the compost out from the bottom was very hard on my back and the material did not break down very well due to the lack of ventilation, so I reverted to using the pallets.

I use three bays. When the first bay is full, I fork it into the second bay and start a new heap in the first bay. Then when the material in the second has broken down some more I fork that into the third bay, leaving the second bay ready to receive the material from the first bay when it's full. By this time, the compost in the third bay is ready to use, and so the cycle continues.

One of those plastic breadboards that can be found around the back of supermarkets makes a useful riddle for filtering out some of the lumps and bits of undecomposed stick, if you want to do that

.

Jim_Hodge

magicbastarder wrote: »

might just be worth mentioning as well that we live in the suburbs, and the neighbours either side both have small dogs (corgi and a terrier) and there are also foxes, and cats in the area. how much affect this would have on potential rat problems, i don't know.

We're deep rural with no neighbour and no dog or cat - still no issues.

Hocus Focus wrote: »

I had a dalek one and the rats ate a hole in the hatch at the bottom.
I found that digging the compost out from the bottom was very hard on my back and the material did not break down very well due to the lack of ventilation, so I reverted to using the pallets.

I use three bays. When the first bay is full, I fork it into the second bay and start a new heap in the first bay. Then when the material in the second has broken down some more I fork that into the third bay, leaving the second bay ready to receive the material from the first bay when it's full. By this time, the compost in the third bay is ready to use, and so the cycle continues.

One of those plastic breadboards that can be found around the back of supermarkets makes a useful riddle for filtering out some of the lumps and bits of undecomposed stick, if you want to do that

.

You're supposed to turn the heap regularly. I just lift the bin off and toss the contents back in, while taking the compost that's ready at that point. Mine don't have a hatch at the bottom.

countrywoman

Oh guys I am terrified now! I never knew the statistic about 2metres!

Jim_Hodge

countrywoman wrote: »

Oh guys I am terrified now! I never knew the statistic about 2metres!

Relax. That's a 100 year Old British adage based on no actual statistic.

Have a read
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20716625

MacDanger

Hi

Adding here rather than starting a new thread, hope that's okay.

I have a composter that's pretty much full (one of these ones from the council) and I have to move it to a new house - any recommendations on the best way to do this? Just yank the top off it and fill the contents into bags?

Thanks in advance

Hocus Focus

That's the only option.

hirondelle

Hocus Focus wrote: »

That's the only option.

Agreed- and line the boot of the car as it is hard to fill the bags without getting some on the outside!