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PostPosted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:46 pm 
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I have a big issue with fruit flies flying around/in my bin and I'm wondering if there's a way to reduce this? I just find it rather an eyesore while watching out of my kitchen window and see all these flies there - makes me feel dirty :)

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:56 am 
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Is this a regular compost bin or a worm composting bin?

If a regular bin, you can bury deeply the fruit/veggie scraps under some horse stall waste (if you have a stable nearby), some dead leaves, or grass clippings.

If a worm bin, grass clippings and horse stall waste might heat up your bin too much...here are some other ideas:
*freeze your food waste before putting it in the bin (some indoor worm bin composters do this)
*reduce acidity of your bin by adding eggshells or a little lime

Another thought--those fruit flies are just another aid in the process of composting...besides, the first frost is coming and you can say adios to them then.


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:08 pm 
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Are you going to feel dirty when you dig into it and find a nest of a few hundred cockroaches? You should find all kinds of decomposing critters in your pile or bin. Fruit flies are among the normal critters you should see.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:48 pm 
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Location: Frisco, Tejas
For the past several years I've composted a LOT of stuff and have had every variety of local fly in the bin. THis may gross you out more than the fruit flies but I use soldier flies to compost (quite intentionally). With Halloween coming I guess I will claim 50-60 pounds of spent pumpkins, fruit flies and those little mold eating flies would be around the bin for weeks if not for the fact that adding all that pumpkin will cause a major explosion of heat loving soldier flies... Guessing there will be a couple pounds of half inch long larvae churning the bin for me by the time they get done.

Soldier flies are so much bigger and hungrier than filth flies and fruit flies that honestly I think they eat the larvae of the others when they run out of readily available scraps.

The adult looks like a wasp rather than a fly, doesn't like to mess with people and doesn't buzz around the house. Occasionally after a heavy rain the area around my bin will show a 'migration' of the late stage larvae which are slightly flattened with a pointy, hardened 'head'. Once you get past the ick factor these suckers will reduce 10 gallons of table scraps to dirt in a few days.

I use one of those huge garbage bins the city uses with a few hundred holes drilled in it to let the flies in and keep the rodents out.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:18 pm 
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I sometimes get Black Soldier Fly Larvae in my worm composting bins, as well. They are awesome little composters. Also, they are not a vector for any human illness (like house fly might be).

My composting worms LOVE pumpkin, and neighbors know they can drop off their pumpkins to me for composting. I am asking our community garden to add a pumpkin drop off to our first organized/communicated to the community leaf drop off. My goal is to not see any darn bags of leaves or rotting pumpkins wasting on the sidewalks of our fair city. What a waste!


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:03 pm 
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Location: Frisco, Tejas
wormrancher wrote:
My goal is to not see any darn bags of leaves or rotting pumpkins wasting on the sidewalks of our fair city. What a waste!


LOL... OK so you are like me... when the HOA's landscape crew went around and scalped all the grass in prep for overseeding I ran around the neighboorhood all excited to be getting 10 big bags of free, pre chopped compost material.

My friend, just because composting is perfectly logical does not mean we aren'ta little ...odd.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:46 pm 
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What's odd today is mainstream 10 years from now! Logic and good usually win, in the end--right? In the meantime, I'll embrace odd :lol:, if it is the right thing to do. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy cat lady odd (ok, so I don't have hundreds of cats, but I do have thousands of worms :oops: ).

www.txwormranch.com


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:16 am 
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Location: Frisco, Tejas
wormrancher wrote:
What's odd today is mainstream 10 years from now! Logic and good usually win, in the end--right? In the meantime, I'll embrace odd :lol:, if it is the right thing to do. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy cat lady odd (ok, so I don't have hundreds of cats, but I do have thousands of worms :oops: ).

http://www.txwormranch.com

LOL. Dude, be careful... those crazy old cat ladies don't like to be called names.
My wife says I'm "out playing in my poop pile" when I'm turning the bin and while she isn't certain I am sane, she sure likes the lawn, the flowers and the veggie garden. My pepper garden went 'little shop' on us this.


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