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Compost question

post #1 of 8
6/13/10 at 9:25pm
Thread Starter 
I am loving my compost tumbler but seem to have a swarm of little gnats, maybe fruit flies, flying around inside. Anything I could, or should, do about this?

TIA!
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post #2 of 8
6/14/10 at 9:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzmama View Post
I am loving my compost tumbler but seem to have a swarm of little gnats, maybe fruit flies, flying around inside. Anything I could, or should, do about this?

TIA!
I get those when the compost is too wet. I add some dry material and turn it well (our bin isn't a tumbler) and the flies go away.

I don't know if the flies are a problem as far as compost-making goes, but our neighbors are very close and I don't want my bin to become a nuisance to them.
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post #3 of 8
6/17/10 at 1:35am
I don't think they're hurting the compost at all, they're just annoying. My compost tumbler is full of them too.
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post #4 of 8
6/17/10 at 9:12am
Ditto about adding more brown material. That should help, especially if they're fungus gnats.
Abra, re: your signature, us too (except it's .22 acre city lot )
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post #5 of 8
6/17/10 at 9:17am
I find a layer of shredded paper or grass clippings on top of the fruit and veg gets rid of the fruit flies. I don't think they affect the compost any but I can live without them flying in my face when I take off the lid.

I've been told that the fruit flies have usually laid their eggs in the peelings before they get to the compost bin so I've been making an extra effort to make sure peelings get straight into the compost rather than sitting in a container in my kitchen. So far so good.
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post #6 of 8
6/23/10 at 11:52am
Em &/or Abra, do you have links to your bogs?
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post #7 of 8
6/23/10 at 12:00pm
Besides "more brown" (which I think could do the trick all by itself) - how are you storing fruit scraps before tossing them into the tumbler? Are you dedicated and get them right in every day, or are you storing them in a pail in your kitchen for a few days first?

If the latter, I've had good luck keeping a bag of scraps in the fridge (freezer works too). Then fruit flies never infest the scraps. Whenever the bag is full I take it to the bin.
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post #8 of 8
6/26/10 at 8:54pm
Keeping the scraps in the fridge or freezer?!?! What a great idea! Thank you!
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