Soldier Fly Larvae

I have been composting stuff in various forms for the past 10+ years. I have never seen much living in my pile...well until this past weekend. I went out to turn my compost pile and it was just LOADED with what I am almost positive are Soldier Fly larvae. I have to admit that it gave me a bit of the chills...there had to be thousands of the things. My wife approached while I was turning the pile and I am glad that she did not notice anything because she would shut down my composting operations.

From what I have read Soldier Fly larvae are good (or at least not bad) compost bin residents. I am curious why I have so many of them now. I moved to a new house this spring, but it is just a mile away from my old house. I compost a mix of kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, weeds, shredded paper and some grass clippings. I don't mind the larvae too much, but I guess I would rather keep the numbers down to a more reasonable level.

- Brent

You are right they are good for the compost, but no so good for the creepy crawly sensation one gets one looking at them. I don't really have any suggestion for how to minimize them. They seem short lived - meaning they quickly turn into flies and fly away...

I compost hot and add a 5/8 inch foam mat to the top -- In my last batch, it looks like the larvae were trying to get away from the heat, congregated at the top under the mat and got cooked. They were a problem in the worm bin so we wrapped it with row cover to keep the adults from laying eggs in it. I've always wondered what they were called.

The photo shows a pile after the 1st turn with the mat peeled back. The creepy maggots seem to like the fresh stuff and don't seem to bother it after the first or second turn. I do get a lot of beetle grubs in the finish compost. The chickens sure like them!