Mealy Worms .....

My kitchen cold compost pile is full of large mealy worms, the type sold in Pet Stores. I searched the internet and couldn't find anything on them being friend or foe, only articles on what to feed them, evidently people buy them and feed them to birds, lizards and such.

Can you tell me if they are friend or foe in my cold compost pile and will they eat the lilies which I planted to block the pile from view?

Judy

PS I believe they are the result of my tossing in some spilled dry dog kibble.

edited to add description "the type sold in Pet Stores"

This message was edited Jul 1, 2007 8:37 AM

Never mind, I decided to get rid of them .....

Judy

Do you think the might be soldier fly larvae? In that case everything I have read puts them in the "good" column but they sure are disgusting!

- Brent

Probably but as you said they are disgusting and there are so many!!! I can't imagine that many hatching. It would be a swarm. I poured boiling water on the compost pile today and I'm guessing it killed about about half of them, but there are still plenty left. I'm going to stop feeding that pile for awhile. Yuck!!!

Judy

My compost pile has maggots swarming around it, and i smelled something dead nearby (really close, like in the doghouse that I use as one wall of my pile!!) I hope the DH moved whatever it is, cause I need to go turn it and add some more food. And I sure don't want to feed any maggots. I HATE maggots...

Yuck to the maggots!!!!! They are nastier than the mealy worms but about the same activity.

Pour boiling water on them, the earthworms are deeper in the soil so it shouldn't hurt them, but if those maggots hatch those flies will be buzzing everything including you!!!

Thanks, Ya'll. I think DH found the maggot magnet, cause there are not more out there this morning.

Speaking of boiling water. I have two new bags of MG potting mix outside and have noticed ants in them. Will need to refurbish my EBs in about 4 weeks. Can I just pour some boiling water down into the bags to kill the ants? It can drip out the bottom.

I don't know about ants. I've heard they can stay under water for 13 hours so if the "boiling hot" didn't get them then it wouldn't do any good.

I have had piles for about a year now, and when I woke mine up this spring, it was gross with various maggots, bugs and all sorts of stuff. I assume this is like your cold compost.

All I did was start it back up with some fresh grass clippings and a turn over. I am now on my 3rd or 4th turn over of the pile having added the leaf mold from last fall's leaf drop, and several mowings of grass clippings, and it smells good and earthy, and seems to have gotten back to serious digestion.

Boiling water? Does not sound good to anything living in the pile. I say flip it over, get it good and wet, and let it heat up.