Mice in my compost

Just about every time I go and turn my compost pile or water it, I see a mouse come out from below the pile. So, am I not getting it wet enough ?? and can I put some kind of poison around the bin? My compost pile is 4x4 - has cotton burrs, grass, alfafa, chichen poop and kitchen scaps in it. Yes, at times it isn't as hot as it could be. Would like to hear from ones that have conquered this problem.
Mary D.

What kind of scraps are you adding? How often are you watering? Sounds like you might be watering too much and turning too often. Are you using a thermometer to measure the heat?
The mice have found something in the bin that their eating, so need to figure out what that might be, if possible, and don't add no more. Sounds like it's fixable without having to use poison.

No thermometer - I turn every 3 or 4 days. The scraps I use are lettuce, tomatoes, banana peelings, etc., coffee grinds, and some paper towels. The bin does get hot but then I turn it bec. I think it needs air. This is my 2nd year too compost. The first was with a smaller area - container. Doccat5, thanks for answering - will go get a thermometer and rig it up some how.
Mary D.

Get a meat thermometer........their a lot cheaper and work just fine. LOL Don't turn so often, let it "cook" for a couple of weeks. Make a hole in the center and add your veggie scraps in there, then recover.

Okay, Doccat - turning too *much*???? Whatta concept.... >grin< .... Doccat knows a **ton**, but I'm gonna question this one!

I think (and this is just me- I've never had any pests, but who knows if that's my practices or my Dalmatians!) that a) A consistent human presence is a good deterent to a lot of pests. b) Turning the pile -as vigorously as possible - is uncomfortable for any inhabitants c) Turning the pile increases the aerobic microbe activity by introducing more oxygen - it's the anaerobic microbes (microbes that work without oxygen) that cause the increase of smells, thereby attracting bugs and rodents and also d) Speeds the breakdown (aerobes work a lot faster than anaerobes) and give the rodents less food to work with.

I would say a nice, warm, undisturbed 'buffet" pile is exactly what a mouse would be looking for to nest in for the winter - I'd make it as uncomfortable for them as possible.

I'd also *really* discourage the use of poisons - you can end up with the effects of the poison long after the mouse is gone, and as we see in clinical trial of medications, etc. - our own systems are quite similar and we react to the same poisons they do. If it will kill a mouse, it is likely to at least damage us, or our animals, etc.

We had a Cairn terrier that also helped keep any vermin at bay - they were actually bred to dig rodents out of the cairns - the stone fences in the UK. If you like dogs, I highly recommend them for bright, happy dogs, just remember they're still "terr-i-ors"!

Whew, that was a stretch, even for me! But I miss my Maggie.

Personally, I would leave the mice alone , except to protect whatever they are damaging. They are eating and pooping just like the microbes.

Sounds like thoses are some great ideas. I had a couple of cats feeding off my pile tell I turned it and added the coffee grounds.

Dean

Didn't mean to sound unsympathetic. If they seem to be overpopulating I would try snap traps or glue boards. Poison bait might not tempt them anyway if they have a good food source. If really concerned I might move the whole dang pile and bust up the Mouseopolis that may be under there. (if you have little kids, go get the books Kat Kong and Dogzilla)
From your list of ingredients it sounds pretty 'green'

I know I've been chucking quite a smorgasbord into my cold compost bed, and I have yet to see vermin of any kind rummaging around in there. I don't turn mine very often at all, and my stuff is breaking down very nicely. I pull a deep trench down the middle, pour it down the trench and pull it back together. No odor, no anaerobic activity and no pests...

I've only turned the pile about 3-4 times since last summer. It's never gotten "hot" but the breakdown has been excellent. FULL of HUGE worms...

I think that my worms may be kicking some butt in their pile.....LMBO!

Lots of information - I also have been putting old bread in my pile - not much!!! Maybe that is what they are coming to feast on. Anyway I have dogs, but they are not the greatest hunters and I think I will try the traps between the piles. I don't have that many - I just see one come out of the pile when I tend to it.
Mary D.

Good luck, Mary, I add old bread to my pile too.

Dean_W

I think they've just gotten cozy--too cozy, and it wouldn't hurt to cull them a bit, especially if its anywhere near your house or shed where they might start to cause trouble.

Mice infestions are not a good thing, thats for sure. Must be a little field mouse. Glue traps sound good as long as the dogs don't get into them.

Glue traps are horrendous, inhumane inventions.

If the mouse is in the pile, it's not in the house; look at it that way.

Where there are mice there follow snakes! I don't share space well...........

True, in a healthy ecosystem there is an entire food chain leading up to us.

Anything that can find sustenance in my compost is welcome to it & I appreciate the help with digesting & aerating it all. I'm an egalitarian composter. I garden to feel part of the cycle of nature, not fight it.

And if I needed to kill a mouse, I'd find the courage to do it myself, and swiftly. I think anyone who uses glue traps should keep their prey within sight, perhaps on the coffee table, the better to watch its suffering.

Actually I like the traps, it's quick and not to bad to clean up.

I currently don't have any food scraps in my pile, but Dad spotted a rat out there last weekend. I can't say it was actually "in" the compost pile. We'd been piling stuff (mostly dead palm fronds) to go through the chipper (once we fixed the broken belt) and I guess in the meantime a rat just got comfortable. Unfortunately, as Dad was using the pitchfork to put stuff in the chipper, he impaled the thing. He felt bad; "It never made a sound", he said. Of course, that didn't stop him from sending it through the chipper and asking me if a little rat meat would be bad for the compost. At least it was quick; I agree that glue traps are horrendous.

Melanie