What do you do with your used bedding?

I cleaned all of my racks last night minus two kitty litter pan sized tubs with mice that JUST had babies. With all of the used bedding i filled up an entire trash can overflowing. And had to put the rest into a box i wasnt using. Earlier in the year i was burning the used bedding in a fire pit, but ive noticed the smell of the burning bedding DOES smell different and although no one has approached me im afraid my neighbors are going to hate me for it lol. will the trash companies take the bedding? Ive heard of some people taking it to the dump but i dont have the time to do that lol nor do i even know where a dump is around here. What do YOU do?

LOL, I actually started a thread with this identical title a couple weeks ago. I am in the same boat. I have been giving it to the trash comp, however I only have room for a small bag each week so its stating to get out of hand as well.

One of the best responses from my post, and there were a few of them, was people starting compost piles somewhere by there house. If you have room, thats my vote. that way you can add old veggies, fruit and all that kind of stuff.

I was wondering if I would be able to put it in the "yard waste" garbage can.. I have a feeling its not going to fly, but who knows...

Good luck!

searching>me lol

I thought about a compost pile but damn with would be a HUGE pile lol. I have plenty of room in my yard but id be worried i couldnt keep up adding consumables to it lol. Isnt a big pile of rat crap and wood going to cause quite a stink? i just hate to set up a pile right by my neighbors back fence. i do have a nice spot about 100yds from the house that would work though.... hmm food for thought!

Ya I use a trash company and have never had issues. I run around 40 rats which fills up 1 lg garbage bag every other day. I have to pay for weekly service but it's worth it to get rid of that nasty bedding.


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I guess Ive always just thrown it away in the regular city garbage can and its always been fine...although I only have about 6 rodent cages at the moment, you seem to have a lot more.
I suppose it would depend on the city. And oh man I can just imagine the smell of burning rat waste bedding :mouse2:

There's a new building thats being built near my house. I save up all the bedding in big bags then drive em down there and use their giant trash bins. I have a pretty big back yard but im sure my neighbors would complain if i try to burn or just have a giant pile there stinking

I tried the compost thing but it stunk so bad when wet and my pit always tried to eat it so that didn't last long. It could work if you lived on land but you really wouldn't want that leaching into the water system, gross!. I have 18 cement tubs of rats and clean most once a week and grow outs twice a week, I fill 1.5 trash cans a week easy and it just goes out with the rest of the trash at the curb. I only pay $19 and some change a month for 3 cans and 2 bags that get picked up at the curb every week. I wouldn't dump it into any large construction dumpsters because that's illegal unless your actually there working, not worth being fined over IMO. :cool:

I throw mine in the trash as well.

I just compost mine. We have city compost pick up and they provide big bins for it. I am actually quite surprised to hear that you all don't have something similar...

i just throw mine in the regular trash bin - but i only have a few cages for now :D

all mine goes in with the city trash.

Pitoon

I've heard of a lot of people cleaning it and re-using it. I personally use it for my bins that I use to pick up my live feeders.

We have a dumpster, so that's where it goes :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by heathers*bps

We have a dumpster, so that's where it goes :D

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lol!

I used to throw it all in the trash, but now I just compost it all.

I compost it. The smell goes away within a day or two. The compost isn't all that far from the house, and other houses are close by too. Never had a problem here. Even if I let the cages go a little longer between cleanings the smell isn't too bad unless you are right near the compost pile.

I either put mine in the city trash bags, or take them to the dump myself. Taking it to the dump is a really pain in the rear. I tried just composting it for awhile, but I would have to turn my backyard into a compost pile with the amount of rats I have now. I wish I knew a gardener with a huge garden near me that I could give it to. It's amazing for your plants. You should have seen my rhubarb and pumpkins this year!!!

I'm thinking about putting up a post on CL for compost, but I'm not sure if anyone will go for it. I knew a lot of people that wanted our horse poop for compost, but I don't live on the farm unfortunately and it's a decent drive :( Otherwise that's where my rat poop would go!