Don't do it as the whole bunch will be contaminated. Rats and other macro-fauna will visit a compost pile for a variety of reasons. I've had snakes, toads, frogs and even a opossum in mine before I got a bin with a cover. I would suggest you make sure any food scraps are inside the middle of the pile as that is more often than not the cause of the visit. Turn the pile, add more browns and water and that should solve your rat problem. NO PESTICIDES PLEASE!!!!!!

You can get rat traps at ironmongers. Like a mouse trap only bigger and tougher. Then you can compost the rat. (Or rats if you don't fix them quickly.) Frequent turning also helps deter them from nesting in the bin.

There are some really good and easy to use rat traps on the market. Some of them are easier to clean out than others. I'd suggest some trapping; when you have the body in the trap, you know you've made a kill. I would also leave the trap out after you think you have all the rats to make sure there are no stragglers.
Renais

I had a rat come to visit a couple of years ago (not a common sight in the city). It looked like it was living underneath my deck, so I sprinkled a handful of treated corn seed near where I last saw it, and never saw it again. In my case, it was attracted to my bird feeder, which is some distance from my composter.

On a related note, last spring I had mice that decided to nest in my compost pile. Step 1 was to "smoke them out" - I added a bunch of new material to the pile and got it really cooking. Mouse & co. moved out. Not sure where they ended up, but I put out some more treated corn, just in case they wanted a free meal. Last year was a bad year for rodents - I had chipmunks and voles everywhere, not to mention squirrels...

Cheers,

Tim

Just to be clear, 'treated corn' IS rat poison, so if you don't want to use pesticides this is not the answer to your problem. Also, a propos traps, be careful when you site your trap to avoid accidents with other animals. I had a horrible experience when I had only just set the trap under the side of the compost heap but had not yet replaced the old carpet on top. I turned away, heard a snap and found that a robin had been attracted by the bait (a bit of bacon rind). A robin with a broken neck is a very upsetting sight.

That's why I like to put some kind of cover over the trap with just enough of an opening for a rat.

I have experimented with the zappers for mice, and found that they can work fairly well also. There are rat zappers of the same design. The beauty of these designs is that they do not have any poison, will not harm children or pets who mess with them, and are quite easy to clean out. This might be another alternative to try.
Renais

Rat and mouse poison presents risks for predators such as hawks, owls and the neighbors' cats. This is just the first link I found on the subject. There are plenty of others.

Here is a link that might be useful: predators

How about a 12 year old with a BB gun?

Is the The Pied Piper of Hamelin still in business?


John

rat poison is such overkill. If you have rats around use an enclosed bin for your food scraps. you mentioned they were in your bin, what sort of bin is it? if it is one of the plastic types with a lid and open bottom? then all you need to do is dig the bottom into the soil, even an inch or two will keep them out. we have had problems with rats here for years (due I think to the amount of demolition and development of old housing in the area) and this is all I have to do to stop them digging under the bin to get in. You can also sit the bin on top of wire mesh so they can't dig under.

rat traps and baits are not safe for other animals that may be around, you may end up killing a bird or other animal that comes across the bait or trap.

trancegemini,

Did you just leave them around to multiply? Also what is wrong with a covered trap?

no i don't just leave them to multiply, although I have a neighbour who does because it goes against his beliefs to kill them (he's a buddhist). I regularly put rat baits in my roofspace where the only things that can get at them is the rats. I have thrown away countless dead rats over the last 10 years which have taken the poison. baiting a few rats is not going to do much good if you are still providing them with an accessible food source which is why I suggested using an enclosed bin for these. If there is food around, the rats will breed. Rats flourish wherever there are people because they have so much access to food sources, and cutting off the food will do more to control them than killing a few with baits or traps.

I've seen several mentions of eliminating food sources; however, my problem is my garden is the food source. Yes, they seem to be living in the compost pile. But, they're eating my vegetable right off the plants. Any suggestions?

I'd be very nervous with rats around. It's said that if you can see one then there's ten hidden. Around my home I've had mice, chipmunks, squirrels, ducks, opossum, racoons, skunks, dogs, cats, even a deer once. Right now there's a black bear wandering around the town of Narragansett. Never had rats.

We have "bait stations", from a pest control company, constructed in such a way that only rats can get in to them -- not squirrels, or domestic pets or birds. Maybe mice, I don't know. They require a key to open to refill the poison bait, and are wire-roped to big concrete blocks so they can't be carried off.

I wouldn't want to mess around with rats, personally. I don't think rat poison is at all overkill. I know with us it's not the compost pile, the whole neighborhood has them, and they eat almost everything up to and including dog and cat feces. So good luck "eliminating food sources".

And my understanding is that they're not solitary animals, where you see one it's not just a lone rat wandering in for a snack -- it means there's already an established colony in the area.

I've actually kept pet rats for years, so I'm sad that killing the wild ones is necessary, but whatcha gonna do.

Kristin

If you set out poison for the rats, you'll have to confine them from the time they get the poison to when they die, and dispose of the bodies safely. Today's rat poison is so potent that cats or dogs (or birds) that eat the poisoned rat can die from the secondhand poison.

Putting snap traps in safe areas may be your best bet. They usually provide a clean quick kill. The best place to put them is in a low area where they have clearance for the snapper, but are too low to allow a cat to get close enough to be injured.

Peanut butter and canned spray cheese smeared to the trip unit are good baits.

Sue