Expert: Greg - 7/21/2011

Question
hello dear Greg , i started a compost pile in a hole in my garden, i am living in abha Saudi Arabia it's desert environment ,
when i turned my compost pile i noticed that it is full of all kinds of pests and insects and fly larvae , i am pretty sure that is not normal so do you think that i should consider burying the pile under the ground and forgetting every thing about composting till i make a compost tumbler ? I've read about turning the pile every 2 to 3 days to prevent larvae from living but i am sure it will not work since there is millions of flies in my garden and I've read about pouring boiling water on the pile but i am sure that will kill the germs which works on composting process too with the insects ..thank you in advanced.

Answer
Hello Rasha

Greetings from the USA


The bugs that visit your Compost pile are natural, and expected. I am not sure what type of bugs are present in Saudi Arabia, but this is Nature at work.


I know water is a Precious Commodity where you are, but you need to keep the working Compost Pile moist, but do not soak it. Chop up the things that you add, as small as possible, this speeds the process. Bacteria is present too, this is normal.


I might also ask, what are you adding to the Compost Pile? Things to avoid are, Meat scraps, all Dairy Products, Salads leftovers with Oil on them, or any dressings. These attract things that you do not want in your Pile. If you have a way to add Soil, regular Soil, not sand, this helps, because this is your Activator, to get the process working. Adding Carbon <brown> matter such as Leaves, sawdust, will balance out the Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio, and also speed things up.


I know that Insects are not desirable, and of course if you have too many, this is not good either, again I don't know what you have available to use, but Earthworms, adding them to the Compost pile, will help speed up the process, and will help move the matter around.


Keeping the Pile well Turned, which is what you are doing now, will help get rid of the Insects. Try doing this every day. Don't add anything new, till you start to see results of Rotting away.


Compost tumblers are your choice, I am neither Pro or Con on using them. Boiling Water does nothing to Kill insects, other insects will usually feed off of each other, and this is Natural.

I hope I have helped here, but if I have missed something, please don't hesitate to ask a follow up question, sometimes it takes a few of these to get it all.


The Best of Luck

   Greg