Why maggots in compost

There has been a video on YouTube for several years of a horde of maggots consuming an entire pizza in just a couple of hours. It turns out that maggots can play an important role in decomposition and recycling those nutrients back into the soil. Remember, they are harmless and actually quite helpful. Eventually, the maggots in your compost will die, and their bodies then decompose as well. Nonetheless, we should be thankful for all the work they do, and the thick, rich soil they leave behind.

At Public Goods we are on a mission to reduce waste. In an effort to learn more about how to incorporate compostable materials in our products and packaging, we took a tour of a composting facility. Just getting started? From reducing waste to recycling and upcycling, our e-book shows simple ways to make choices you can feel good about. I used the BOKASHI method which I would love to share with the world ,so our future for our children will Be better than when we arrived and help perserve our ways of life in making a better future, reducing our carbon footprints we have left behind for our future to cope with,….

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Was this page helpful? Yes No. Apply a thick bead of waterproof caulking compound around the inside of the hole and press the screen down over the caulking compound. Tape the edges of the screen to the wall of the bin with waterproof tape. This excludes flies from the compost so you won't get maggots in the future.

Always wear rubber gloves when working with decomposing compost. You can add some lime to your compost bin. This will raise the pH levels of the bin and convert ammonium nitrogen into ammonia gas which will be toxic for the little buggers.

The only problem is, this is also bad for the microbes that do the heavy lifting in breaking down your compost. They need more nitrogen than less. Another issue with adding lime is that your compost will ultimately already be on the alkaline side having a high pH level at the end of the cycle.

Adding lime will only make that higher, which can be too high for your garden later. Some will suggest adding sulfur to make it more acidic later, but avoiding the issue altogether is better. Finally, you can either purchase a composter that is enclosed and has screens built in for air flow that don't let the BSF through, or try to wrap your open air bin with mesh screens I've not been successful with this, they still sneak through tiny gaps I can never find.

My dad decided at one point he was going to raise chickens for eggs. This lasted a few years but one year he spread his compost out in the yard and let the chickens peck through it for the maggots, and then shoveled it all back into the bin. I thought that was pretty clever and it's something you can consider if you raise wild birds like that. You can do it yourself with rubber gloves if you're so inclined. This is my composter above, one that has never had BSFL in it. I wouldn't mind a few and have even considered contaminating it a bit from my open air bin, but haven't done that yet.

It's pretty big and as long as you turn it so water doesn't get in I haven't had issues but I always leave the doors face down , it's never too heavy to turn. Yes, to a degree. You don't want a massive infestation or they'll take out too many nutrients, but some will help accelerate your composting and make sure it's ready for the next season.

The reason to get rid of them is if there's too many or you just find it gross. If you distribute your compost amongst your garden plot before tilling the soil, you'll turn in the maggots as well, which provide a nutritious value too. Some may grow into adults and fly off, others may suffocate under the soil. But it's not harmful to you or your vegetables or plants. Because you've allowed it to become one of the ecosystems the BSFL thrives in.