Re: rats, solutions to

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:  community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:  https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
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