We get this one a lot at Ask Gardenerd, so we thought it would be good to answer it in print:
“Help! I just opened my compost to little tan maggots?! I have never seen them before!!! Our compost is every kind of food we throw out. So, I assume it is unbalanced? Also, I have noticed that the food has not been going down lately. Our compost is covered too! Should we throw hat inside or is grass ok? –Sarah”
Thanks for writing in, Sarah. Let’s start with the maggots. Those “tan maggots” are probably black soldier fly larvae, especially if they are about 3/4 to 1 inch long, and are segmented, or are embossed with stripes across the body. Those guys are super-digesters. They help break down your compost a lot faster than other bugs. They are otherwise harmless.
We wrote an article about this a couple years ago that you might find helpful. You’ll find solutions there for balancing your pile. If you have chickens, they love black soldier fly larvae. You can scoop some out and feed them to your hens. They’ll love you for it.
Food not “going down lately” – I think you mean that the contents of your compost bin is not reducing. If that’s true, the bin is most likely drying out. When a pile dries out, microbes go dormant. Microbes are responsible for breaking down your organic material into finished compost.
Try this: turn your pile from one place to another. You can shimmy the compost bin off the pile (takes 2 people), set it down next to the pile, then shovel the contents back into the bin. That’s how much you need to agitate the contents. While you’re turning the pile, hose down each layer you add to the bin so that it’s wet on all sides. Moisture is key to decomposition.
If your compost pile smells like garbage, then it’s too wet. Add carbon (browns: leaves, torn up cardboard, wood chips, etc.) and mix it all together. It will help fuel the microbes in the pile to wake up and start eating again.
Grass clippings – yes, you can add grass clippings, but mix them with some carbon first, then add them to your pile. Straight grass clippings will turn slimy, and will become anaerobic very quickly. Mixing them with browns will break up the layer and provide a balance of high nitrogen (the grass) and carbon (leaves, wood chips etc) for microbes to feast upon. IF your grass clipping are treated with herbicides, chemical fertilizers or insecticides DO NOT ADD THEM. There are weed killers in existence that do not break down in the composting cycle, and they are listed as a neurotoxin. Bayer makes one of them, though we don’t know the product name off hand.
Now about that hat… We’re not sure what you mean by throwing a “hat inside” but if it’s made from biodegradable materials, sure, you can throw that hat in your compost bin. We recently threw an old straw hat into our compost pile. It’s breaking down and in about 6 months, it will be gone.
We hope this helps! Thanks for writing in.
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