I am thinking about buying a composter (open bottom, closed sides with ventilation slits), but do not want to end up with a huge fire ant pile. So what is everyone's experience? Do you frequently find fire ants in your composter or compost pile? If so, what have you found to be effective to keep them out? I have read a good quantity of coffee grounds as well as turning the pile frequently will help. Anyone know if that works? If I put fruit in, will they be more likely to invade the pile? How about veggies? I have also ready that spraying the pile with molasses and orange oil will help keep them out. I know this will help eradicate a mound, but didn't know about how it would work in a composter.
Anyway, all comments/suggestions are appreciated.
TIA.
Fire Ants in Composter
I use spinosad bait on occasion to keep fireants out of compost. It's not the perfect solution, but I don't have fireants in the pile any more. Keep in mind that orange oil will hurt the earthworms if they are in the composter. I've seen what it does to them if it gets on them and don't ever want to see that again!
Do you put it in the pile or just broadcast it around the pile?
Thanks!
Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had ant problems with my two square on-ground compost bins or my Mantis ComposTwin. It is true that fireants seek loose pliable material to tunnel in, but my hunch is they're not likely to use compost for a permanent colony home because the tunnel structures would not hold up well very long. I do add a lot of coffee grounds and I have a "twister" for the upright bins - essentially a plastic rod with flanges that can be opened inside the pile and rotated. The tumblers can be turned with the gear-driven lever. I don't turn it every day, sometimes not even every week (!) but the only insects I've seen are mealybugs. Yuska
Well, what I've been calling mealybugs must be something else I discovered after searching for descriptions. These little guys have sectioned scaly backs and curl up in a ball when poked. I've never seen them on on living plants. Gray in color.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2009 1:31 PM
Doodle bugs! That's what we called them when we used to play with them; I suspect it's not the scientific name.
I've had ants set up in the compost bin. I found them when I was turning it over. Got quite a few bites but went ahead and turned it and they disappeared. I think if you make sure to disturb it periodically they won't set up shot. I had left this alone for weeks.
Yep, the little gray bugs are doodlebugs or pillbugs. They will eat plants, usually tender new growth sprouts. They are harmless to people and lots of people played with them as kids. It's neat to see them roll up into a little ball, like a gymnastic mini version of an armadillo!
I put the bait around the edges of the pile. Not much poking around in my pile this year, however. With no rain and only occasional water from the hose, less little compost critters are around.