Here are some tips to avoid rodents in the Aerobin:
- Preventative measures: Locate the Aerobin in an area where there is as much people traffic as possible – Rats/Mice do not like being disturbed – so the more sheltered the location the more aggressive rodents can/will be.
- Preventative measures: Try not to position the Aerobin close to a fence line – it provides a sheltered cavity between the fence and the Aerobin.
- Defensive measures: Wrap Chicken Wire Mesh under & around the Base of the Aerobin. Include the leachate collection tap space – and if necessary up the side walls of the Aerobin. Cut through the mesh where the Access Doors are located, then bend the mesh along the line of the bottom edge of the Access Door and it will then fold (open & close) like a live hinge so that you can access the Aerobin to harvest compost. This makes it difficult for rats to gnaw through the vertical walls or the Base. Use Clothes Pegs to retain the Chicken Wire together at the vertical line of the Access Doors – effectively to keep the wire in place.
- Defensive measures: An alternative to the Chicken Wire would be to install your Aerobin on a raised platform – like the 1st photo below shows. The platform is only 5mm each side larger than the Base of the 400 Ltr Aerobin & the cavity of the platform frame is back filled with stones – making it impossible for rodents to gain access by burrowing under the platform. The minimal edge of the platform effectively eliminates any ledge for rodents to stand and work away at gnawing their way thru the plastic. The other benefits in raising the Aerobin are – (1) it makes harvesting compost into a container easier & (2) it makes collecting the leachate easier as well.