The Disadvantages of Composting and Mice

Although composting is the ecologically correct thing to do it does have its disadvantages. For instance you could have a beautifully arranged garden and yet somehow end up with big ugly black plastic bins and tumblers (used for composting) marring the landscape. If that is not the problem then another unsightly vision is the big pile of rotting waste in the corner of your garden that lets off a steam in the cold morning as thick as its foul odor. Odor can really be a problem when it comes to composting not only because the animals that come to feed on your compost will excrete in your yard but also because grass and leave clippings can really smell sour after just a few days.

One of the disadvantages of composting is the mice that it can attract. This can really be a problem. Furthermore mice can get into your garden (after being lured to your compost heap) and munch away on things like hostas. Sometimes the problem is a lot larger than mice. If you live in a rural area or in cottage country you might be dealing with snarling territorial coyotes invading your back yard and big bears overturning your composting bins at night.

Another one of the disadvantages to composting is that you can’t always control the process. This is especially true if you live in a very arid desert like climate in which case there is not a lot you can do to make waste break down fast. Composting in really hot climates can take two or three years as the aerobic activity needed to degrade waste is just not available in that type of climate.