I have "lots" of small brown and black ants in my pile. There are also lots of what looks like winged ants... which I'm not sure, but may be termites. These are mostly around the edges as opposed to the center of the pile... but the infestation is quite heavy at the edges and in certain spots. I've been doing an "add as stuff becomes available" type pile - in the same spot for a few years... without ever really turning it much. I dig into the bottom/center to remove finished compost, and pretty much just leave the rest alone. I know there's a better method, I just haven't implemented it yet. What might the presence of these ants and possibly termites mean? Thanks. -other1

A hot and constantly moist compost pile, or active compost pile, will never keep ants hanging around.

I had the same problem with ants with all the rain we had in June. I turned the pile and now that it has heated up again I don't see any more ants. Guess it is to hot for them and they moved on.