Composting has a variety of benefits for your garden and the wider environment, but it is a gardening habit that can attract pests.

A long list of compostable ingredients can deter unwanted visitors from nibbling on plants and crops, but many of the same ingredients can have the opposite effect, such as enticing mice.

A pest control expert has warned that these furry creatures are known to seek out food sources and your compost pile could be the same for hungry pests.

from Rocky Quality Affordable Pest Control It turned out that the problem was caused by careless composting of kitchen waste.

He said: “Mice are omnivorous and will eat almost anything to survive. When searching for food, mice are attracted to areas where there is a readily available food source, such as rubbish compost piles or improperly stored food.”

When it comes to nuisance contents in your compost pile, many people consistently compost food waste like egg shells, apple cores, and root vegetable peelings.

“Egg shells by themselves generally do not attract mice to manure unless there is a significant amount of egg residue left on them,” Rocky said.

“But if you have other food scraps in your pile, such as fruit or vegetables, the scent may draw them in, and they may check out the egg shells, too.”

Of course, leaving potato peelings and eggshells, which are particularly attractive to rodents, is one way to ward off mice. But there is an easier solution that means no food is wasted.

Rocky suggested: “Try covering food scraps with leaves or grass to reduce the risk.” Many gardeners know the importance of balancing green and brown materials in the compost pile; This is a prime example.

Green materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, while brown materials include dry leaves and straw. This balance helps the compost stay warm and less attractive to mice.

The Royal Horticultural Society suggests that 25 to 50 percent of your compost pile should be soft, leafy green material, and the other 75 to 50 percent should be chopped woody, brown material.

Organizing your compost with food scraps buried in the middle of the pile and a layer of finished compost or soil on top will also work wonders for rodent protection.

Rocky noted the importance of using a bin “with a tight lid to keep rodents out” and turning the compost regularly. He said: “This will also help reduce rope odors which can attract pests.”

Many gardeners rely on this method, such as Mumsnet user Mamhaf, who raises compost bins to deter rodents.

Responding in a thread to a fellow forum member who had mice in his compost, they wrote: “Our solution was to take it (the box) up (a green Dalek type box) and put chicken wire underneath it and then make sure the lid on the front is always fully closed and the lid is tightly closed.” .I also stopped putting eggshells, I don’t know if it made a difference but DH always said something about things attracting mice.

“I haven’t had any problems since – and I just dug out two big pots of nice crumbly compost, which I plan to mix with well-rotted horse manure and plant my geranium cuttings from last autumn in there… so it’s worth it… I’m persevering.”