Black Soldier Fly for composting?

Does anyone know where to buy the larvae? For some reason I can't seem to find a site online. Also, I'm not worried about having them where I'm at as it is often too hot for them from what I read. Can they become a nuisance?

http://www.google.com/products?q=phoenix+worms

This message was edited Apr 16, 2010 1:57 PM

Thanks Puddle. Have you used these yourself?

Mine occur naturally in my composter. :)

So hows about you shipping some to me, Puddle? :-) Share the wealth!

Tell ya what. I'm about to start two big batches in two composters. I'll keep one nice & wet, and with the lid off. If I get a crop of them wriggling in there, I'll gladly toss a few in a box & ship 'em to ya.

Remind me in a month?

Cool! I found a place here that sells them. 100 for $9 or something like that. If I remember I"ll remind you. thanks!

Puddle, well, I broke down and bought some. Threw the suckers in there and in about 5 minutes they were gone. Just gone. The next day I relocated the bin and still didn't see any. Hmm. Working behind the scenes? I feel like a fool! LOL. If you could russle me up a whole bunch I'll be more then glad to pay for shipping. Still don't want to give up on them although I'm not sure - it might have been the heat - maybe they fried. Could they have molted over night?

I'm no entomologist. All I know is that bugs move, and usually to places you don't want 'em to go. If they molted, maybe they'll stick around the source of delicious grub food.

The weather's been chilly this week, so I haven't seen any "customers" on the pile yet. We'll see what next week holds. If I end up with any nasty crawly grubs, I'll send you some.

Another update - there were TONS of small white worm-like (not maggot like) creatures - THOUSANDS - wriggling around. Figured something has to be working. DH & I have been shoveling waste into the compost bin and something is happening. Have to get better at picture taking!

Yup they are maggots of some variety & they're helping out the pile. My compost was steaming this morning. These guys are producing some serious heat so I'll let them go. Thanks puddle but I don't think I'll need your larvae as mine, whatever they are, are doing ok all by themselves.

What do the parents look like? I've never heard of these worms.

Edit: Okay I found it!

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

I think I saw their larvae in the compost last summer. I'll have to be more diligent in encouraging them!

This message was edited Apr 15, 2010 12:10 PM

I don't really know if that's what's in my pile or not. But there are THOUSANDS. I turned my pile last night to check it out & then again this morning and what I thought was dust from dryness (we're so dry here if I hand my washed clothes out to dry it would only take maybe 1/2 hour or less at most) was really steam! And where these little guys were the pile was SO HOT that I'm impressed they were able to survive. There's no meat products in my bin so I doubt if these are house fly maggots as I've never had them in my compost bin before. And I hope there not some other nasty offspring, either. Time will tell!

Can you post a pic or two for ID purposes?

Will do. They look like maggots then they can stretch themselves out. Will send one in the morning. Thanks puddle

The picture didn't come out well but you get the idea. No dark head like the Black Soldier but they seem to be doing the same kind of thing.

Sure they are maggots but didn't think they would like the compost pile

Exactly. They eat, they poop, they molt. Makes for nice black gold!

I think I, too, need to keep a compost diary. I thought, hey, these little guys are breaking all this stuff down so quickly, why not just add more material, help things along? So after adding tons of rabbit poop, hay & newspaper to the pile, along with week only grass clippings (which the flies already got to), the amount of flies & little gnats and other creatures increased tremendously. This is some scary stuff. There are so many flies and flying things around the compost that I had to go out and get some fly traps. I'm afraid they're going to carry off the neighbor's cat. Or at the very least he (neighbor) is going to file a complaint against me. Hmmm. Compost vs. possible spread of disease. Getting worried here. Though probably in a few days they'll dwindle. I hope.

If they get outta hand, the spiders, toads, and mantids will take care of 'em.

I've also seen birds pecking at things in the compost, so I assume they eat flys/maggots (whatever), too :)

Mother Nature has a way of taking care of things.

Yes Honeybee & Puddle, I've seen the hummingbirds eat the gnats that have sprouted up from the compost & other birds eat the flies. Even the smell from the compost is not as strong and the pile has been reducing. I've been very lucky in that both of my compost heaps have gotten so hot I can see steam if I turn them in the morning.

One of my compost bins is a large garbage can on wheels that I've poked holes into and is black so it gets very hot. The other is one of the city's recycled jobs where they cut the bottom off. Which makes it almost impossible to turn which I think is why I had so many pests. Since I can't turn it I've set it under my fig tree so that whatever I'm losing in the way of nutrients from the pile is going to the tree. I do have a couple of free standing piles, which are hard to have out here during the summer as things bake and try out in seconds. But right now I have plants growing from them and maybe we'll have some veggies out of them before they turn into crispy twigs. :-)

I'm in a lightweight titanium wheelchair, so it can be awkward to turn compost while staying balaced. I switched from a Soilsaver Classic ...

http://www.google.com/products?q=soil+saver+classic+composter&show=li&lnk=showgrid

... to a Scotts Compost Bin (formerly known as a Smith & Hawken Biostack):

http://www.google.com/products?q=scotts+company+compost+bin&show=li&lnk=showgrid

It's ridiculously simple to turn the compost now, and there's much less chance that I'll flip ass-over-teakettle while reaching out with a laden compost fork. I suspect it'd be much easier to use for anybody who suffers from back pain, too.

geez - what a visual, PP!

You shoulda seen me at the last outdoor wedding reception I attended!

ok, I'll bite - what sort of entertainment did you provide?

I leaned back against a hillside railing that gave way, and my chair & I ended up in a bush two feet below the walkway. Everyone was horrified. I was laughing. I suffered nothing but green smudges on my jacket elbows.

OMG! It's amazing that you saw humour in this & sustained no injuries.
What did you do for an encore?

I still don't quite grasp the methods you employ to turn your compost pile & perform much of the prep work for gardening. I admire your dedication & tenacity...and the ability to laugh!

You do have a sense of humor, puddle!

Yes, I have seen these. But I don't have any - I sheet compost in my orchard (it's hidden), 3 big wooden bins in the back of the veg garden & use 2 old dog kennel runs for layering leaves/brush/grass/manure. I find it easier to do it this way because of the quantity of compost I need, and I'm not in a hurry. I don't turn it - no time & a bad lower back. I have been doing this for about 20 years, and it works well for me. Time is a precious commodity as I am a staff of one & work full time. Sometimes I wish I had a little tractor with a large scoop - it would make short work of all this.

Hi Kayte, sheet composting gets tougher here in Phoenix during the summer when a pair of jeans can dry in 10 minutes or so. For the past month I've been laying in a 6x6 area and its a bear to keep it moist. And that's even watering it 1-2x a day. And its only getting to 90. Without moisture things don't break down. Any help I can get is appreciated, even if its from little nasties (I've recently discovered a very large larvae which might be beetle or black solder not sure. MUCH bigger then the small maggots). Once the really hot days kick in the flies kind of go away on their own, anyway.

Meisgreen - moisture is one thing we don't have to worry about here! Except that piles need to be covered to keep them from getting soaked.
Do you have water rationing & if so, how do you deal with the piles?

No water rationing yet, although I can see that happening in the next ten years or so. If that's the case gardening will be history. I hope I'm gone by then!

My compost pile was a complete disaster. There were so many flies & bug larvae I was afraid the neighbors would call the city on me. I dragged the contents in the middle of the yard to dry & thus killing off most of the insects. I think I did seem some of the black solder larvae I bought. But the flies didn't reproduce fast enough to help out. I would need a thousand (no kidding) at a time. Was really worried I'd attract roaches. I don't like that city composter - its going out on big trash pickup!

Hey Puddle! I have black soldier flies. yahoo!!! So it took from April 14 to now for them to develop. Saw one (and took a picture - trying to get my son to help download it - I'm a computer idiot) on the side of the inside of my composter. Really hope its laid some eggs.

My bins are really heating up now as the temps were around 95 today. The maggots don't like the heat and try to crawl out which is good. Hope the soldiers will continue to thrive. If they do I should move the bin back under the fig tree where it doesn't get the direct sun. But we still have such a fly problem its not even funny.

Awesome!

Here's a picture of it. Didn't spot any this AM but did see more larvae. Hopefully they will stick around.

Hmm - it's hard to tell from your photo, Meisgreen, but I think I saw a fly like that on my living room window over the weekend. I'll have to take a peek into the compost bin when I get home.

I never thought I would be encouraging flies! LOL

Hi Honey, we don't have these here naturally (I've never seen them) and I would rather have these then those bothersome houseflies! The Larvae just ate & ate.

Found a whole bunch of squirmy maggots in my compost bin that were feasting on the spoiled meal worms from my emptied bluebird feeder. I don't know what kind of maggots they are, but they're eating rotten stuff and turning it into compost, so I'm happy.