Max Krippler wrote:
It isn't slimy,and the only non-vegetable matter we've added were some
(well rinsed) eggshells. I'll start by moving the thing into the sun
and put grass clippings in if I can find some clean ones. We used
alot of grass clippings in our compost last year and they must have
had weeds because a lot of weeds turned up in our tomato beds this
year. I've heard that if I can get it hot enough it will sterilize
the seeds...

And if these are maggots, they are the biggest damn maggots I've ever
seen. Some of them are an inch and a half long!!!

--Max


Guessing soldier fly maggots...but they are a sign that meat/grease/fats
found their way in the bin. Hot composting rather than cold composting
will stop much of the insect activity. And as mentioned to much
vegetation from the kitchen table only creates a wet environment so add
leaves/grass clippings/news paper(no color adds).

Lar

Max Krippler wrote:
H E L P ! ! !
When I opened the hatch on my above-ground compost tumbler the entire
bottom of the thing was squirming and writhing with what I first took
to be worms. But on closer inspection I believe that these are mostly
some kind of an insect larvae-- possibly cockroaches-- and there are
thousands of them. I really don't want the composter to become the
breeding ground for a pest infestation. Is there anything I can do to
kill the buggars without ruining the compost?

I've used mostly vegetable scraps, rotten fruit and coffee grounds in
this batch...

The composter is in the shade all of the time. Do you think that
placing it in the sun (It is made of black polypropylene) would cook
them?

Thank you,
--Max

Roaches have what's called a gradual life cycle...little roaches look
pretty much like adult roaches so you probably would recognize them easy
enough. You probably have something in the fly and gnat family eating
the probably soggy decomposing vegetable matter (such as fruit flies
attacking rotting fruit in the house). I would think you would want your
composter in the sun anyways to help with the composting.

Lar

A good read.


Bill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade
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"Max Krippler" wrote in message
...
H E L P ! ! !
When I opened the hatch on my above-ground compost tumbler the entire
bottom of the thing was squirming and writhing with what I first took
to be worms. But on closer inspection I believe that these are mostly
some kind of an insect larvae-- possibly cockroaches-- and there are
thousands of them. I really don't want the composter to become the
breeding ground for a pest infestation. Is there anything I can do to
kill the buggars without ruining the compost?

I've used mostly vegetable scraps, rotten fruit and coffee grounds in
this batch...

Might be the coffee grounds. We had one of those plastic ice cream tubs next
to the kitchen sink and put the daily coffee grounds in there til it got
full then we dumped them in the compost, and one time after leaving it for
way too long, there were maggots.