Help, flies and maggots appearing in compost

[taiwwa]

Also, need advice on my...unconventional compost system.

So, to start off, I wanted to get a commercial compost system, but was put off by the price. They're way overpriced IMO for what is essentially a plastic box with some holes cut into it.

So what I've been doing is I've been taking Lowes 5 gallon bucks, drilling some holes into them, and dumping waste.

Then I try to catch some earthworms and throw them in with the compost.

When one bucket is about 2/3rds full, I place on top of it another bucket.

Buckets are like $2.60, so it's a lot cheaper than buying a commercial system.

but...

I've been getting maggots in my compost. This only happened recently. Maybe I threw in a chicken bone inadvertently? Left too much water? Left the lid open for too long? maybe a fly just flew in one of the vent holes?

Anyways, it's crawling with maggots.

Which isn't the end of the world. I just feed the maggots to my fish, which really love the stuff.

But I want to get rid of them.

I've been placing a black plastic garbage bag over the compost, to keep more moisture out and hopefully to heat up the thing enough so that it kills the maggots (and unfortunately, probably the earthworms too).

The days haven't been too warm lately, so I still have maggots crawling in it...

But what to do?

[tomc]

Five gallons is too small. Can your yard support a bin built out of pallets?

Maggots are an inevitable part of decay. As long as your bin can freely drain, smells will kept at a minimum.

[applestar]

I agree the 5 gal bucket is too small -- most sources suggest 1 cubic yard or metre is ideal.

The plastic bag would block aeration and is not a good idea, A roof-like overhead cover would be better.

It sounds like you are not adding sufficient browns -- paper, wood chips, sawdust, straw, brown dried leaves, etc.

[rainbowgardener]

Agree with all of the above. Too small for good composting, not enough browns, staying too wet. You don't need a commercial product to have an effective working compost pile. The internet is full of plans for free or very low cost bins. Many are based on the wooden pallets mentioned, which you can get for free, but there are many other possible materials.

We have a thread going on in this composting forum about plans for home made compost bins.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 35&t=54034