The Rats Always Win in the End
Let’s start with the most shocking truth about composting: pests, including rats, were the third most common obstacle to home composting according to a study conducted in central New York by Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Compost Education Program. I thought I was being environmentally responsible when I started my home composting journey three years ago. What I didn’t expect was to become an unwilling landlord to an entire ecosystem of unwanted tenants.
The first time I lifted my compost bin lid to find a humongous rat staring at me, I nearly jumped out of my skin. But that wasn’t the worst part – sometimes there were two or three, and sometimes they were as shocked as me and bolted for the hole they’d just made. What started as an eco-friendly hobby quickly turned into a daily battle against creatures that seemed far more determined than I was.
When Good Intentions Meet Terrible Smells
One of the drawbacks of composting is the odor emanating from it, which can be unpleasant if not managed well. Good compost smells like fresh earth, while bad compost smells like rotting garbage or urine. Mine definitely fell into the latter category more often than I care to admit. Despite following all the “expert” advice about balancing greens and browns, my compost bin became a neighborhood nose assault.
The smell wasn’t just unpleasant – it was embarrassing. She’s embarrassed to have friends over because she worries they will notice the smell, and this has made her contemplate quitting composting altogether. This perfectly captured my experience. I found myself timing garden parties around wind direction and praying that guests wouldn’t venture too close to that corner of my yard.
The causes of these emissions may result from anaerobic conditions, high temperature, low C/N ratio, and alkaline pH. The effect of these emissions is seen as a reduction in compost quality, atmospheric pollution, and human health. What was supposed to be helping the environment was creating its own little pollution problem right in my backyard.
The Science Behind Why Composting Goes Wrong
If the pile has a bad odor, it may be too wet or need more air circulation. Add more browns/dry material to the pile and turn the pile. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. If aerobes become oxygen starved, then another category of microbes dominates. The microbes that thrive in oxygen-devoid or anaerobic environments are called anaerobes, and the by-products of their respiration are an array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), acids, and heat. Anaerobic respiration is one of the main pathways for odor generation in a compost pile.
The reality is that maintaining proper aerobic conditions requires constant vigilance. For aerobic compost microbes to continuously thrive, dissolved oxygen levels in the liquid films surrounding compost particles must remain above 3%. I wasn’t running a science lab – I was just trying to get rid of my kitchen scraps without feeling guilty about sending them to a landfill.
The Endless Battle with Maintenance
The most basic composting is not a fast process, which is one of the most significant drawbacks of the process. You must also keep the compost away from the house/garden because it can be messy. This understates the reality significantly. Composting isn’t just slow – it’s demanding. Every few days, you need to turn the pile, check moisture levels, add browns, add greens, and monitor for problems.
Monitor your pile for moisture, odor, and temperature and make adjustments as needed. What started as a simple environmental gesture became a part-time job that I never applied for. Between work, family, and other responsibilities, the last thing I wanted was another chore that came with the constant threat of failure – and failure in composting means stench and pests.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to contain the waste in a small area. The compost pile will also attract insects and rodents if you don’t take precautions. Despite my best efforts to “take precautions,” nature had other plans.
Fruit Flies: The Tiny Terrorists
Before the rats came the fruit flies – clouds of them. Even though a swarm of fruit flies or houseflies isn’t so detrimental to the compost, it might be annoying to people who live nearby. “Annoying” doesn’t begin to cover it. These microscopic menaces turned every trip to add scraps into a scene from a horror movie.
I installed a sort of makeshift Tupperware bin for compost under the sink, and almost immediately found it removed. I asked what I assumed to be a benign question: “Why don’t we compost?” And he yelled: “BECAUSE IT’S DISGUSTING!!!! AND I HATE FRUIT FLIES!!! THEY NEVER LEAVE!!” My housemate’s reaction might have been dramatic, but he wasn’t wrong about the fruit flies.
If flies are a problem, cover up fresh food waste with dirt or bury it deep within the pile. More work, more maintenance, more things to remember – and still no guarantee of success.
The Mice Made Themselves at Home
With their super flexible skeletons, a mouse can squeeze through a 6mm gap – that’s about the size of a pencil. No matter how carefully I constructed barriers, mice found their way in. In winter, a compost heap has everything a mouse needs. It provides superior insulation against the cold and may even provide some self-generated heat. Compost piles tend to be drier in the winter when they’re not being turned and watered, which makes them even more attractive to the little critters.
What started as an occasional visitor became a full-blown community. I found a nest of mice in mine. Not Rats. Does the same rules apply? I use this compost for my tomatoes, carrots and fruit trees. The disturbing reality hit me: I was potentially contaminating my food garden with rodent-infested compost.
The Constant War Against Nature
These little rodents are drawn to compost bins for a few reasons: Warmth: Compost bins generate heat as organic material breaks down, making them a cosy nesting spot for rodents. Food: Decomposing food scraps in your compost bin are a veritable buffet for rats and mice. Shelter: Compost bins provide a safe and protected environment for these critters to hide and breed.
I tried everything – wire mesh, mint plants, keeping the area clean, balanced ratios. I have loads of mint around the bin.. it doesnt deter them and my pet rats love to eat mint! one frustrated composter reported online. The reality is that nothing is rat proof!
Compost bins are a preferred option for rats and mice, especially during the cooler months of the year, due to their shelter and warmth. The persistent critters can chew through anything from wood to plastic to get to their food source, which makes commercial compost bins vulnerable to an infestation. With their high breeding rates, a pair of rats can spawn nearly a thousand, leading to a chronic rat problem in your home or garden.
The Mess That Never Ends
Beyond pests and odors, composting is just plain messy. When I first started composting, it was tempting to chuck all of my food waste into my compost bin and pat myself on the back, for eliminating food waste. That temptation lasted less than 48 hours when the chicken skin began to rot in the bin under my sink. After airing out my kitchen and scrubbing my compost bin clean, I started over.
The learning curve is steep and unforgiving. Make one mistake with what you add, how much moisture you maintain, or how often you turn the pile, and you’re back to square one with smell, pests, and mess. It’s like trying to maintain a delicate ecosystem while the ecosystem actively fights back.
Compost inevitably leaks, spills, and spreads beyond its designated boundaries. Tools get dirty, hands get dirty, and somehow dirt tracks into the house no matter how careful you are. What was supposed to be a clean, green solution became a constant source of additional cleaning.
The Economic Reality Check
Somers found that, from a purely economic perspective, the cost to run a compost program outstrips the social cost of avoiding putting that methane into the atmosphere, especially with these low participation rates. The median cost to expand composting programs is $478 per ton of CO2 avoided. With current programs, given the infrastructure we have – these programs are really expensive for the savings we see.
On a personal level, the costs add up quickly. Special bins, tools, amendments, pest control, and the time investment make composting far more expensive than it appears. When you factor in the potential property damage from rodents and the cost of dealing with infestations, the economics become even less appealing.
I invested in multiple bin types, various tools, pest deterrents, and spent countless hours troubleshooting problems. The “free” compost ended up costing me far more than buying commercial compost would have.
When the Neighbors Start Complaining
The final straw came when neighbors began making pointed comments about “unusual smells” coming from my direction. Their collective rationale being: it’s gross, it’s annoying, it’s inconvenient, I don’t even see what difference it will make. While I disagreed with the environmental impact argument, I couldn’t argue with the gross and annoying parts.
No matter the location or method, the most common reason folks don’t try composting is they’re afraid of the smell. They were right to be afraid. Despite all my efforts, research, and good intentions, I couldn’t consistently prevent the odor problems that made my compost bin a neighborhood nuisance.
Living in close proximity to others means your composting mistakes become everyone’s problem. The freedom to experiment and fail with composting is a luxury not everyone has, especially in suburban or urban environments.
The Participation Rate Reality
According to an online survey of 2,000 adults by Harris Interactive and the National Waste & Recycling Association, 72% of Americans do not compost their food waste. After my experience, I understand why. This represents only about 30% of the average weekly food waste generated by a U.S. household. Unlike some larger cities, like San Francisco, most composting programs, including Austin’s, do not have any way to enforce compliance.
Even municipal programs with professional oversight struggle with participation and effectiveness. From there, you should compost if you want to compost. I think, inherently, we don’t want to be wasteful. But for some people it’s just a high burden of effort. That “high burden of effort” became the defining characteristic of my composting experience.
The Final Decision
After eighteen months of battles with odors, pests, mess, and complaints, I made the decision to quit composting. The only benefit of not composting – particularly in a city with infrastructure in place, like Seattle – is that it is less bothersome to you. Sometimes, being less bothered is exactly what you need.
I still believe in the environmental benefits of composting, but I also believe in being realistic about what works in practice versus what works in theory. For me, municipal composting programs and commercial compost became the solution. I could still divert waste from landfills without turning my backyard into a pest habitat.
The guilt of quitting was real, but so was the relief. No more daily anxiety about what horrors awaited me under the compost bin lid. No more embarrassing explanations to neighbors about “temporary” odor issues. No more wondering if every garden pest was connected to my composting failures.