I'm relatively new to composting...my first year. I have a square black bin with a lid on top. It is probably 4' x 4'. It sits in a shady corner of my back yard. I put in all vegetable waste and egg shells from the kitchen. From the yard I put in leaves, grass clipping and any yard pruning material I have.

About a week ago I stopped at Starbucks and got a rather large bag of coffee grounds which I added to the bin. A couple of days later I was adding some kitchen waste to the bin and I thought my compost was moving. Upon further inspection, I saw the maggots. I freaked out, closed the bin, and came in the house to figure out what to do.

I began a search on the internet which eventually brought me to this blog. By the time I got here, I realized early hysteria is the first reaction, and eventually a voice of reason will speak up saying it's ok...it is the larvae of the BSF.

So I'm past hysteria. I'm now in the 'what do I do' phase. Two immediate questions come to mind that I can't find the answer to.

1. Can I turn the pile? If so, how often?
2. How do I use the compost for my garden?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but right now those seem the most pressing.

Thanks!

Hi anniebluesky, welcome to our forum.

As I read your post it was clear you had the perfect combination of elements in place to attract BSF if they are found in your area. For some odd reason they seem to love coffee grounds and of course the vegetable waste is also attractive. If you don't mind would you please tell us where you are located, at least generally? We're always trying to expand our knowledge of the BSF range. Submissions to our BSF locator map are always appreciated as well.


I'm not an expert on traditional composting but I don't think you will hurt the BSF larvae by turning the waste, at least not enough to worry about. Since your unit isn't designed to contain the larvae they will come and go in waves probably, but if you keep adding the vegetable waste you will have more females laying eggs to replenish the colony.


Again, I don't think you need to alter your plans much. BSF will not harm your garden as they are not designed to eat fresh produce. Any larvae that get transplanted to your garden in compost should simply crawl away in search of rotting material to eat.

Please feel free to ask any questions and I hope others with more composting experience will chime in.

Jerry, Thanks for the reply. I can't find anything in all the research I've done on turning the pile or using the compost. So your reply was most helpful. But, at the rate they are eating, I won't have anything to use in the garden anyway!
peace...
annie

I answered the first question by just doing it. I figured that I had a compost pile and I had to continue with making 'compost'. So I added lawn clippings from the yard and turned the pile. The pile was heating up. I could feel it from the center of the pile.

The first day they seemed to disappear. I didn't know if I killed them. Then the next day I added kitchen scraps to the top of the pile. The day after that I saw them again.

So...I really don't know if I did kill them and these were new ones, or if they just migrated up to find the kitchen scraps that they love.

Does anyone think this is a new batch of larvae or the same ones just coming up to munch on the scraps?

It's possible that the larvae are seeking cooler areas when your compost heats up. Worms will do the same thing. So it may be the same larvae returning after the compost cools down enough.

FWIW, I've found that if I want the BSF to get to compost in a hurry or faster than they normally show up, I just add some fermented soy bean meal. The stuff smells awful. I guess that is what attracts them. But once they are there, they will eat just about every thing else, where the "every thing else" might not have attracted them to begin with.

In fact if you leave the ferment open slightly, within a day of so, the stuff is swimming in larvae. Then just dump them with the stuff into the compost.

m

Hey I started composting this year too! But I learned about the BSF by just trying to read up on how to compost, then after read and I realized how great they were for the process I checked my pile and there they were. Oddly enough though, I had seen an adult fly before in my backyard waaay before i started composting. I remember cause I said "oh dang! look at that black wasp!" I figured it must have been a california bug because I'm from Ohio and had never seen one until then. But once I saw a picture online (about a week ago) it jogged my memory instantly and I knew what it was.

Anyway if you haven't figured it out by now they are completely natural and only beneficial for your compost pile. Just treat the pile as you normally would and when all of their "food" is gone they leave, but not before they help make that "black gold" for you!