Comments on: Rats and Outdoor Trenches

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:38:37 +0000

I am located in Southwestern Ontario (Canada)

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:33:19 +0000

What area of the country are you located in red worm composting man?

By: Bentley

Bentley — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:29:14 +0000

Sounds like an interesting set-up, Ed – thanks for sharing.

By: Ed Walser

Ed Walser — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:48:58 +0000

I’ve just started an outdoor “above ground trench.” I built it using salvaged bricks for the sides – and – lining the floor of the trench. I too, have had rats in my compost bins. However, they don’t seem to be getting into the trench, which I’ve already loaded with about 400 lb of vegetable waste, straw and topped off with a layer of horse manure. Still too hot for the worms, though. I wish it would finish composting quicker.

I haven’t had problems with rats or other animals (we have opossums, rats, rabbits, squirrels and foxes) getting in the trench in the past two months. With the loose brick liner, they can’t dig in from the sides and bottom, and they haven’t shown any interest in getting in through the top. If they do, though, I have materials to make a barrier out of hardware cloth and lumber.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:49:59 +0000

Interesting idea, Letitia – thanks for sharing that!

By: Letitia

Letitia — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:04:09 +0000

This is an idea from one of my uncles who regularly has to fend off rabbits in his garden: he puts down a metal grating on top of the soil and straw at the base of his plants and attaches with wires to a car battery. Voila! An electric fence. This might work for repelling rats if you put the grating on top of the straw above the trench? Anyone willing to try?

By: Waneta

Waneta — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:22:30 +0000

Rats were the first thing that I thought of when I read the trench article. They moved into my suburban neighborhood a couple of years ago. After years of putting kitchen waste in compost bins, I started vermicomposting indoors last year because of rat infestation of the outdoor bins.

I do some pit composting when there’s more waste than the Can o’ Worms and the Auxiliary Bins can handle. If it is a small amount of waste well mixed with dirt, and buried under several inches of dirt, the rats will probably leave it alone. If the waste is concentrated (like a bucket full of apples that rotted before I could make applesauce), there will be rat tunnels within a day or so. Some of the waste will even be dug up and left on the surface, although that could have been the resident fox hunting the rats.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:26:49 +0000

Hi Asha,
Thanks for sharing that!
I guess the only solution would be to build a worm bin with an enclosed bottom and no other way to get in.
I bet rats would love to eat worms too.

By: Asha

Asha — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:02:53 +0000

I have rats around my area, so vermicomposting in anything that they can access is out of the question. My neighbor who also does vermicomposting, regularly found rat poop near her vermicompost bin and later realized that she had an issue of worms escaping – so obviously the rat was around to get them.
I have a pit dug where I add only grass clippings and dried leaves – no worms.