Bees

[pickupguy07]

I am just getting my compost pile going good. It's about a foot tall so far.
anyway I went to throw in a few things today and I saw there were lots of bees (or wasp) hovering (feeding I suppose) on top of the compost pile.
SO who else has had experience with this,.. and how do you fix it.
SO far I added what leaves I had on top of it, and dumped about 5 gallons of water on it.
I do have ashes to add,.. but thats about it.

[Kisal]

The "bees" may have been the small species of yellow jackets, which often feed on feces. If you put manure in your compost, they may have been feeding on that. They will feed on certain fruits, too, but I've never seen them feed on vegetables. In the future, I would suggest that you cover the surface of the pile with 2 or 3 inches of soil, immediately after adding components such as manure. When adding small amounts of fruit, you could just dig down into the pile and bury them.

I'm not sure leaves or water would be sufficient to deter the yellow jackets. I used to have to shoo them out of my big outdoor habitat cages every morning, before I could go in and clean up after the animals. I would spray them directly with the hose, and they'd just come right back.

[pickupguy07]

you are probably right. I couldn't tell if they were bees or yellow jackets..
I do have horse manure from the stable in my compost pile,... and I did just turn it yesterday.
Believe it or not 'dirt' is kind of hard to come by around my house... I have nice 'yard grass'.. and then woods. Lots of roots just under the surface....
Might have to try and round up a few more leaves,.. add some schredded news print, or fireplace ashes.
If I had to choose,.. which do you think would be better.?

[Kisal]

Whatever is most dense, so they won't just crawl through the covering to get at the manure.

The little yellow jackets fly faster than honeybees, and their bodies aren't fuzzy. After you've watched the two for awhile, you'll be able to tell them apart easily.