I looked in my bin today and saw lots of maggots. What did I do wrong? It has been about 2wks that I started the compost and it has rained just about every day for 3 weeks so far. Does it has anything to do with maggots?
531058
I have two answers, so pick the one you like best :). (1) Maggots, or larvae of any kind, are NORMAL. I don't actually have any in my bin at the moment, but I wouldn't be alarmed if I did. Flies are attracted to decaying material and lay their eggs in it. It's (going all Lion King on you) part of the circle of life. They're helping break up the compost for you. (2) If you don't like the idea of maggots in your compost, yes, being more wet attracts them more. Add more brown material and flies should be less attracted.
466951
It's not an instant fix...give it some time to work its magic. Your gnat population should be diminished significantly, and the remaining few should die out pretty soon. I continued to see a stray gnat for a while, and I didn't even notice when that stopped because there were so few at that point. You followed the instructions to put the powder a third of the way in the pot, right? In addition to that, I also sprinkled some around the surface dirt and watered it in. That might help you, too.
531062
Well, nature has you. Maggots are normal. The bin is too wet. Be sure the door is shut tight, don't wet the bin any further and be sure it's in a sunny location. Assume you know that no meat products are to be put into the bin? If you put anything animal in it you also draw lots of flies. I'd open the bin and smash the maggots up if it freaks you out, turn it over a few times and cover the bin so the refuse doesn't get any wetter before it breaks down. Also, dump the bottom holder. It's likely full of water that draws all kinds of bugs.
2086331
I have a Garden Gourmet compost bin which looks exactly like this one. The fence between the next door neighbor is about six feet (houses are close together). So the compost bins (I have two) are about five feet from the house. I've had the compost bins for 20 yrs and have never had an odor issue. I only use vegetable and plant matter. I don't know what it would take to create an odor but I must be doing something right.
1042375
I keep adding to my compost all winter. I just don't turn it over as often, maybe once every 2 weeks or so. While nothing will "cook" during the winter, you'll have fresh material on standby for when it does start to warm up. I suppose my only tip would be to make sure you add material to it during the daytime and make sure your composter stays in a sunny spot. The door can freeze "shut" at night due to the lower temperatures and any moisture along the track. I've already been through one winter with it and I sincerely had no issues and didn't have to make any changes to the way I used the tumbler.
950980
I buried mine in my garden, but other options might be to bury it deep in your compost pile or empty the trap into a bag and then dump into your yard debris recycle bin right before pick-up. (If your trash/recycling company allows you to add "food scraps" to your recycling.) One warning - new flies are attracted by the smell of the bait, so be prepared for flies to swarm around the empty trap until you get a chance to clean it and to be very interested in where ever you dump the old bait. (Burying it might sound like over-kill, but even a few inches of dirt seemed to make the new flies lose interest and go elsewhere.)
1713429
Didn't do anPything other than apply as directed. Great stuff. We had a moderate infestation but not now. Put it out in all the spots where we had seen roachs. Within a day or so they were dying. Within a week all the big ones had died. Then for the next week or so we say numerous little ones that had hatched. Then they started dying off. Now a couple months later it is rare to see a roach. However I do intend to re-apply in all the places I had before. I will say this, in my 73 years this is absolutely the best roach killing product I have ever used. Use it as directed and it should work for you. It did for me. David Didn't do anPything other than apply as directed. Great stuff. We had a moderate infestation but not now. Put it out in all the spots where we had seen roachs. Within a day or so they were dying. Within a week all the big ones had died. Then for the next week or so we say numerous little ones that had hatched. Then they started dying off. Now a couple months later it is rare to see a roach. However I do intend to re-apply in all the places I had before. I will say this, in my 73 years this is absolutely the best roach killing product I have ever used. Use it as directed and it should work... » Read More Didn't do anPything other than apply as directed. Great stuff. We had a moderate infestation but not now. Put it out in all the spots where we had seen roachs. Within a day or so they were dying. Within a week all the big ones had died. Then for the next week or so we say numerous little ones that had hatched. Then they started dying off. Now a couple months later it is rare to see a roach. However I do intend to re-apply in all the places I had before. I will say this, in my 73 years this is absolutely the best roach killing product I have ever used. Use it as directed and it should work for you. It did for me. David « Show Less
1572139
If you mean 'gnats,' those are fruit flies. We hang a fly-paper strip nearby and it seems to get most of them. Also, when you dump the Norpro into your compost pile, make sure you wash it well before taking back into the house. We hose it down and let it dry before bringing it back in.
1351283
I let it hang till it looks like it's going to explode at the seams it's so full. I do not however like the smell that comes with 40,000 dead, rotting flies so at that point it goes in the dumpster. There is a smell when you put a fresh one out but it smells 1,000 times worse when it's reaching max capacity with rotting dead ones in the mix. They'll even lay eggs on their dead buddies so you'll have maggots in there too. I toss around 30 days.
1661614
I have seen slugs in the grass but not inside the composter or on it. I tend to keep my compost on the dry side. It is taking longer to finish.
133663
Just a note on a new product that I saw in the latest Gardener's Supply catalog (Dec. 2014.) It is a compost pail for the counter that sits atop a base consisting of a matching, nearly unnoticeable, fruit fly trap. What a concept, though not cheap (it's Gardener's Supply after all!) Might work for all of those, like me, who have fruit fly problems come hot weather. For the time being, though, I am going with the Oxo.
1738257
Mine only got mosqeeters and moths, until I put a smear of over-ripe banana on it. That attracted the flies, and it killed them as well. I used banana, because while most spoiling food smells very bad, bananas just smell like banana while they decompose. Mine is by my pond, which is my refuge, and I dont like excess bugs or bad smells in the area.
1912443
Once I put the worms in the compost tube, I haven't seen them since....... I have lifted the top off the tube to add peelings to the compost and have seen no worms!
1131047
Find the source of the fruit flies and throw it out. I used the trap and 3 days later no more flies. We had a bag of potatoes under the sink that was the source. The trap worked!
125109
I have mine in my kitchen. No smell rarely fruit flies as long as I maintain keeping it taken care of. You will kill the worms if you put it outside in those temps since the bin itself has not insulation or a place for the worms to go deep in the ground during the winter if they were living in the ground. Do you have a garage? You could put it there during extreme weather temps. Worms like it when the temp is consistent. Nothing over 80 for mine. I rarely put it outside here in southern California as we get ups and downs of temps. If you have a greenhouse or hot house you could put them there. Not sure I helped much. I have mine in my kitchen. No smell rarely fruit flies as long as I maintain keeping it taken care of. You will kill the worms if you put it outside in those temps since the bin itself has not insulation or a place for the worms to go deep in the ground during the winter if they were living in the ground. Do you have a garage? You could put it there during extreme weather temps. Worms like it when the temp is consistent. Nothing over 80 for mine. I rarely put it outside here in southern California as we get ups and downs of temps. If you have a greenhouse or hot house you could put them... » Read More I have mine in my kitchen. No smell rarely fruit flies as long as I maintain keeping it taken care of. You will kill the worms if you put it outside in those temps since the bin itself has not insulation or a place for the worms to go deep in the ground during the winter if they were living in the ground. Do you have a garage? You could put it there during extreme weather temps. Worms like it when the temp is consistent. Nothing over 80 for mine. I rarely put it outside here in southern California as we get ups and downs of temps. If you have a greenhouse or hot house you could put them there. Not sure I helped much. « Show Less
1876698
I think there are more than enough to start your Worm Factory. I have the same system, and when I placed these worms in the top bin ( I had almost completed compost in the second and third bins )about half of them migrated down to the second bin. Good luck with them.
1602878
It depends on how successful you are, keeping the right consistency and components. Odor happens when the balance is off; it can take a few days to correct. It's bound to happen eventually. Even when all is good, there is an earthy smell of the compost when you open it. It will drip compost liquid 'tea' too. Mine is outside.