Kitchen Garden Forum

My question is " how safe will it be to use compost from my compost bin in which a (or more) rats have been living over the winter"?

Hi mikepearce45,

I quite often have rats in my compost bin but they are of no risk to us if we wash our hands etc & they in fact help with their tunnels breaking up the soil. When disturbed they will move on so just disturb the bin by forking it over or banging on the side of the structure when passing. There are other deterrents you can try like mothballs but not always successful. I just a prod the contents with a cane or fork & bang it & they do move on. They will return eventually though so just repeat.

Evening Westi,
Well they have certainly churned up the compost in the bin and they seem to have eaten all of the kitchen waste (no animal products) so the level has not risen despite a few months of "feeding " the bin. I will give the bin a kick every time I pass ! Thanks for your reply.

Hi, Mike!

You can use it, but it’s not automatically “safe” without a bit of caution. If rats have been living in your compost, there’s a chance of contamination from droppings or urine, which can carry pathogens. The key factor is whether your compost got hot enough to properly break everything down - a well-managed, hot compost pile (around 55–65°C for several days) will kill most harmful organisms.

If you’re not sure your pile reached those temperatures, it’s better to:

use that compost only on ornamental plants, not on vegetables or herbs
or let it compost longer and turn it thoroughly to encourage further breakdown

Also avoid handling it with bare hands and wash up afterward.

In short, it’s usable, but for edible crops I’d play it safe unless you’re confident it’s been fully and properly composted.