roaches in the compost- is it a bad thing?

I have an earth machine composter and every time I turn the compost a lot of roaches come out- EEEEWWW! Should I be worried? It is a community compost pile- all the tenants of the condo put scraps in it. It is located in the shade and has been quite moist- should I move it somewhere sunny? We tried to make compost tea but it smelled awful! What are we doing wrong?

Roaches have been on this earth for an estimated 400 million years. I think the only way to be away from them is to move to Antarctica! I am not even sure they are there............LOL

Compost tea? Is that something one would drink?

I think that term is used for a fertilizer solution.

Ok, that's what I was hoping...

If your compost is overly moist, usually adding more "brown" ingredients, like dry leaves and paper from shredders will help. In fact, if moisture is a constant problem, you're better off adding a higher ratio of browns - about 2 parts brown to 1 part green. At the very least, it will help with the smell.

As far as the cockroaches, if you're in a climate where they're a problem, it may take some experimentation and persistence. Cockroaches will actually help break down your compost and based on info I've read, won't hurt your garden. In fact, once it's spread thinly they'll probably disperse.

That said, here are some things you might try:

1) Very important - Stirring the compost frequently will disrupt their colonies and they may eventually leave on their own.

2) Some people recommend spreading boric acid around your bin, but you have to be very careful to avoid amounts that may be toxic.

3) Thinly spread Diatomaceous Earth around your compost bin (you can even mix it into compost, but I'd first try outside which would be less costly). You need to spread it very thinly or the cockroaches will avoid it.
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It's an all natural product safe for people and animals (there are a lot of different brands). It comes from fossilized remains of tiny aquatic organisms. It can be used as an insect killer, yet "food grade" Diatomaceous Earth is actually added to food products. For safety sake, I always buy food grade. It's available online, but usually costs less at nurseries and home improvement stores.

Here are a couple of links to give you a little info (there are tons more online):

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

4) You can also try sealing off the bin of any holes or cracks, but with no air you compost will take a very long time to break down.

That would completely creep me out.

As suggested, try different management of the bin and hopefully you'll find a way that the roaches don't like so well. Example, where I live fruit flies and fungus gnats are horrible until soldier flies inhabit the bin. Soldier fly larvae are gross to look at but they eat stuff so fast and heat up the bin and the gnats just can't compete.

Maybe a bokashi system would be better since you were trying to get tea; bokashi gives a liquid extract that you dilute (not that familiar myself)