Yes, the pile got neglected this year and didn't heat up or break down as fast as it should have if I'd been on it more often. This is probably why it was hospitable.
Good point about the fruit! Something was stripping the peel off lemons on the tree this spring, and I'll bet it was rats. Perhaps I could put that sort of thing in a smaller secure container to rot, like a metal can, and then transfer it to the main pile.
In my climate, the pile will dry out fast in summer if it's not kept covered, and then it doesn't break down well except at the very bottom. In winter, I'll uncover it to let it get wet in the rain, but sometimes I have to keep the pile from getting TOO soggy. The cover also keeps flying insects down (though I don't have much problem with wasps). The tarp is a small piece that only covers the top of the bin with a little overlap -- the sides and back are wide-spaced lumber with the plastic mesh stapled inside.
I'm also in Northern CA, and I think one of the reasons we get no rats in our compost but our neighbors always get them is that our piles are turned over a lot, so they don't look like a good place to nest. I certainly don't use wire mesh to keep them out; many of my piles are just piles on the ground, not in a composter of some sort.
The other thing could be our dogs in the yard chasing rats away, but the neighbors who are always fighting with compost rats also have dogs, and theirs are terriers.
Anyway, I think turning the compost more regularly would help, especially since when you stopped is when the rats showed up. Not easy when you have an ongoing recovery process, but I've had good luck with getting help from friends and neighbors when I've injured myself too much to be able to keep up on compost turning alone.
I think I'm going to want to turn it over every week for a while! Ugh, rats!
Luckily the injury is better now, thanks. That's why I was out there with a pitchfork in the first place! Now that I think about it, the last time the pile was attacked at all was by my son about three months ago. I guess it needs more frequent disturbing than that to warn away the rodent population.
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I would add more green stuff to the mix and turn up the heat, to make it inhospitable for anything but worms.
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Yes, the pile got neglected this year and didn't heat up or break down as fast as it should have if I'd been on it more often. This is probably why it was hospitable.
Good point about the fruit! Something was stripping the peel off lemons on the tree this spring, and I'll bet it was rats. Perhaps I could put that sort of thing in a smaller secure container to rot, like a metal can, and then transfer it to the main pile.
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The other thing could be our dogs in the yard chasing rats away, but the neighbors who are always fighting with compost rats also have dogs, and theirs are terriers.
Anyway, I think turning the compost more regularly would help, especially since when you stopped is when the rats showed up. Not easy when you have an ongoing recovery process, but I've had good luck with getting help from friends and neighbors when I've injured myself too much to be able to keep up on compost turning alone.
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Luckily the injury is better now, thanks. That's why I was out there with a pitchfork in the first place! Now that I think about it, the last time the pile was attacked at all was by my son about three months ago. I guess it needs more frequent disturbing than that to warn away the rodent population.
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