We’ve had a flurry of questions over the last couple weeks here at Gardenerd.com. Here’s one that came in with urgency:
“We have had an issue with maggots in my compost tumbler. I am not
using any meats or fats of any kind – only green food wastes. How do
I correct this? Is my compost ruined?”
Not to worry. Those maggots (most likely Black Soldier Fly larvae) are actually helping your compost break down. While it’s true that they bring out the “ick” in most people, maggots, worms, and other garbage consumers are actually powerful creatures when it comes to ridding the world of waste. Here are a couple articles that I found to ease your mind:
Always end with brown – Now, if you still don’t want these critters in your compost bin, one thing you can do to help ward them off and keep them away is to make sure you have a thick enough layer of “browns” – i.e. dried leaves, shredded newspaper, dried grasses, etc., on the top of your pile.
Turn your pile – keeping air flowing through your pile will help in every way. Turn your pile often (letting it get hot in between turnings) and that should help.
Watch the water – compost piles need to be wet, but not too wet. Too much moisture creates an anaerobic environment, which can cause that rotting smell of garbage to permeate your world. The general rule of thumb is to keep your compost pile “moist like a rung out sponge.”
Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the activity in your compost pile.
HI Kiki,
The Black Fly larvae are in my worm bin as well. They will hatch into flies and leave eventually. It’s the time of year for them I guess. Gross, yes, but they do help break down the waste material. If you wanted to scoop them out, you could, but I’d just leave it and let nature take it’s course.
hi Christy, i’m a neighbor in Mar Vista and have LOTS of BSF larvae in my compost tumbler, and they’ve made my compost wet. and icky. really icky. it moves. i’d say there are hundreds of these worms. i’ve seen a few of the flys. my understanding is that these worms are all going to hatch at some point? yikes.
what to do??
FWIW, i just googled my problem and come up with a great thread from you, our neighbor, on gardenerd. how neat! thank you in advance for any help or suggestions.
kiki
That’s a really good question. The only thing I’ve seen written about them is their voracious appetite that helps devour food scraps more quickly in the compost bin – things like cheese and stuff that you’re not really supposed to put in there. In the end, it all gets mixed together as organic matter, so I’m sure it can’t be all that bad.
I do wonder about the liquid the BSFs secrete. Would this be good for watering plants as well? Are there any nutrients in those (like compost tea)?
Not to worry. As far as I know, maggots are not going to harbor any diseases in your compost bin or finished compost.