Our garden is close to several restaurants, a deli and lots of
apartment buildings so we are never going to get rid of rats with a
compost bin around. Unfortunately, compost is nice and warm during
the winter and the rats are quite happy borrowing in it. Our problem
will never go away but we found it got worse when a local vegetarian
restaurant started to put oily scraps and things made with dairy
products into our compost. The rats thrived and grew large. We had to
tell them to stop which the employees couldn't understand no matter
how we tried to explain. "It's vegetarian", they would say. The
restaurant is now gone but others food establishments have moved in.
We now have a garden members only policy for the compost. Even then
the fruit and vegetables that end up in there are food for the rats
but they don't grow very large. Aside from building or purchasing a
rat proof compost bin you'll have a time keeping the compost vermin
free.
William Hohauser
Sixth Street & Avenue B Garden
New York City
On Sep 11, 2006, at 4:52 PM, Emily wrote:
The community garden I belong to has recently developed a problem
with rats
around our compost bins for the first time in many many years.
We're trying to
find out what other community gardens have done to successfully get
rid of
rodents - hopefully without using poison or traps (we have other
wildlife,
squirrels, a resident cat, small children, birds, etc.) that we'd
like NOT to
negatively impact
Emily
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______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's
services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out
how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
