Unwanted Visitors

Composts are excellent for wildlife and provide food and shelter for all sorts of creatures, from insects to birds.

There are some animals, however who we may want to deter – find out how to prevent and deal with unwanted visitors.

There are a few simple actions which can go a long way to helping prevent pests from visiting your compost:

Placement

Compost bins should be placed in a well-draining area, ideally with partial sunshine.

Regular Visits

Turning your compost once a week will help to keep it aerated and disturb any visitors, dissuading them from sticking around for long. Banging and disturbing the bin whenever you walk past also helps!

Moisture Levels

Keeping the compost moist is important for its development and for preventing nesting. A layer of dry leaves at the bottom can help with drainage and preventing the compost from getting waterlogged.

Odours

Compost should generally be a mix of 50% fresh, green waste and 50% brown waste. Layering your brown waste on top of any fresh materials, can help reduce the odours which can attract pests.

(simplifyinggardening.com)

Dealing with specific animals

Rats

If rats are regularly visiting your compost bin, the following deterrents may help:

Sit the bin on heavy duty mesh or chicken wire (maximum 6mm x 6mm hole)
Regularly turn the compost to ensure all food is incorporated
Ensure the bin is set squarely and level so that there is no gap between the sides and the lid.
Rats don’t like disturbance. Putting the bin somewhere you pass by often and giving it a good rat-a-tat on the side with a stick every time will discourage them from taking up residence.
Use a ‘green cone’ instead
Use a wormery instead – click here for more information
Sit the bin on an aluminium sheet with holes in (6mm x 6mm)
Grow mint around the bin
Don’t put cooked food, dairy or fish in bin if it gets bad
Last resort – only use your compost bin for garden waste

Flies

Well-run compost bins don’t produce swarms of flies, but if you do see these, then make sure you cover kitchen waste with garden waste after adding it to the heap and check that moisture levels are not too high, causing insufficient air in the heap (source Composting / RHS Gardening).

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