compostbintrackworld… first time composter HELP…!!

Ok, I’ve just been out to my compost bin with some bits and bobs, a few bits of gone over veg and some scraps and teabags..
I never put any cooked food or meat products in there.. It’s been on the roost for getting on for two years and I try to keep the balance of dry/wet goods at a happy medium, although it probably sways towards slightly wetter..
The last time I was out there a few days ago I thought that perhaps there were a few more fruit flies than normal..

Today however, I don’t know whether to call Rentokil, contact the Guinness World Records people or get someone to perform an exorcism..

Firstly the swarm of flies was thick and black and seething, but worse was the apparent exodus of the red worms that are associated with compost heaps.. I’ll often get half a dozen or so creeping up the insides of the bin and a few more inside the lid, but today there were three or four good handfuls in thick gooey clumps around the rim of the bin and inside the lid, that fell out and oozed down the sides..

The flies put me off investigating further, so should I be worried..? Am I doing something wrong..?
Have I just got an overflow of ace lovely worms or are they legging it from some dark and sinister force somewhere deep within the heap..?

I may pop back out later to film the horrific goings on..

You’ve constructd a conduit for evil direct from hell itself ?

On a leyline, I’ll bet

(I was told you have to piss on compost heaps to get ’em going properly – no idea if it’s true but happy to recommend 😀 )

Possible something else crawled in there and died…?

Red worms are GOOD. You are doing it right. Although it should be ready in under two years. You are turning it, aren’t you ?

Ah well there’s your problem- Cthulhu is noncompostable.

wouldnt worry too much about the flies. A few frosty nights will kill them off. red worms are good.

male wee only, its an accelerator for the compost. Female wee contains pheromones and isnt suitable. You only need to wee in it a few times no need to do it every day 🙂

The red worms in our bin rim freak me out every time. Urgh!

We never had any of those red worms in ours.

Flies and worms?!!?! Sounds like it’s going good.
any mice yet?
SB

I doubt you want to piss on it because Francis Maude does that to his and he is a tory.

Wait for the rats.
Oh, they like sunshine as it warms it up and gets it going.
The worms should wiggle like mad when disturbed, not like the big buggers in the soil.
Wee’s good, as are nettles and some fire ash when it’s cooled.
Keep it moving if you can be bothered.
Carboard, grass cuttings (not too much), veg waste (and food if it’s a Green Joanna)
Tim

ok.. so we’re all good then..? My worms aren’t packing up and moving on..?

To answer a few of the queries..

no rodents present that I’m aware of, and I’m fairly confident that there’s far more interesting attractions in the area for them than my compost bin (hopefully)..
I don’t really turn it as such but occasionally stick a fork in it and give it a bit of a mix around, lift it up and let the air get in..
It gets fed lots and lots of veg waste, very occasional grass clippings and plant matter from our tiny tiny garden, plenty of eggboxes and shells and the odd load of sawdust..

worms and assorted creepy crawlies are as prolific as the actual compost, if not more so..

as for it being ‘ready’.. well I’m not a mad keen gardener if I’m honest, sporadic at best, so I just use the heap as an organic waste disposal system really..
Can it go off..? Can I keep it for too long..?
My soil needs conditioning (heavy red clay) so it’s likely that I’ll dig some of the compost into it in the spring..

the flies are only very tiny (fruit flies..?) so I’m guessing that there is no corpse in there..

Flies are normal. Mines like a swarm at present. Not nice topping it up everyday but the end results are satisfying.

My soil needs conditioning (heavy red clay) so it’s likely that I’ll dig some of the compost into it in the spring..

I use mine as a mulch in the coldest part of the winter. The frost helps incorporate it into the ground & as a bonus the insert eating birds get a much needed source of insects. Any compost left on the surface in the spring gets a light digging in.

I read somewhere that egg shells should be washed before adding.

I dont think it can ‘go off’, left my first batch for 2 yrs