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.
The larvae are brown with stripes. No place to send a picture here!! If they run out of food, will they just die in my bin? Will that affect the quality of the dirt when I use it for gardening?
Without a description of the larvae, I’m going to take a guess and say that it’s probably black soldier fly larvae. They start out white, then turn black as they pupate. They’re actually not bad for the compost bin, but they do consume a lot of food. If you leave it out for the birds, they will definitely take advantage. In 100 degree heat, it won’t take long for the grubs to fry if you do leave them out in the sun. You can also go to your local farmers’ market and ask the vendors for the discarded carrot tops and other “unsightly produce” that gets tossed. They’ll probably be willing to give it to you.
My compost (in a plastic garbage pail with holes drilled in sides and top) is now teaming with these larvae. I am only one person so don’t know if I will have enough food for them, it’s loaded now. What will happen to them if I don’t have enough waste to add? Can I lay the dirt out and let the birds eat them? Will they? (I’m in PHoenix and it’s now 100 most days)
Hi Em,
Sounds like you have black soldier fly larvae in there. ‘Tis the
season. They are fine to be in your bin, as they consume a tremendous
amount of food waste. While it’s true they are gross, as the blog mentions, they help your
compost along. If you really don’t like them, you can scoop out the
larvae, but it’s pretty tough to get rid of them entirely.
Hello –
I put a cantaloupe rind in my compost bin last night and this afternoon it is teaming with giant caterpillar size maggots – all attacking the rind with gusto. Is this ok? Every so often we leave the bin lid up to air it out as we don’t have quite as many leaves/brown material as necessary. So I imagine the flies got in there and laid. But it’s so gross to see them over night! Is something wrong? Should I be concerned?