Fruit Fly's?

[Michelle Craigmiles]

Recently I have found fruit fly's in my DIY bins.  Do they hurt my worms?  Is this a bad sign?

Also, I have noticed that several worms still keep crawling around the sides and lid of bin.

[Z-Mark]

I think your plan is good, Michelle.  You might even be able to ditch the light.  My tote bins used to have fruit flies, fungus gnats, and mites galore, and there a constant exodus of critters out of the bin.  Dehydrated mites and worms accumulated on the floor around the perimeter of the bins so that I had to vacuum up pretty frequently.

I took the lids off permanently three months ago, and now I freeze, chop, and thaw all food then mix it with dry bedding to absorb the juices.  I let this pre-rot in a bucket for four to eight days before feeding and the odor is not at all unpleasant.  I'm down to zero fruit flies, a smattering of fungus gnats, no more worm excursions, and the mite dust is gone. 

I just keep one or two loose layers of cardboard loosely lain on top.  My bins now run a little on the dry side so I have to add moisture occasionally.  Goodbye, lids!

[Christopher B.]

i think u stole my thread. but anyway can't flies be a good thing? maybe u will not want them buzzing around the kitchen, but they r part of the ecosystem. do they not help break down food, etc? i had alot of mites. their population exploded because, i assume, of the wet conditions in the bin (the worms also tried to leave a few times), but now that that problem is fixed (by adding more C, leaving the lid partially open and putting a fan on it) there are alot less mites. would not the same be true for flies? and, like i said at the beginning, wouldn't u want as much help as u can get in breaking down the organic matter and the ecosystem will balance itself out? It seems to me that we are to quick to kill things.

[Ar-Pharazon]

Her bin is in her garage.  Otherwise, it'd be less of a big deal, I agree.

I don't think drying the bin will hinder the flies, unless that's connected with preventing them from having fruit to lay eggs on.  (I'm talking specifically about fruit flies... other flies could be totally different.)

[Jerilynn Walton]

Fruit flies or fungus gnats won't harm the worms or outcompete them for food.  What they are is annoying, especially if the bin is in the house.

Certain other flies are actually GOOD for vermicomposting. Black Soldier flies comes to mind.

[Christopher B.]

Thank you. that is wat i was thinking.

[Michelle Craigmiles]

stole your thread?????  What do you mean by that?

[Ar-Pharazon]

Don't play innocent, thread thief.

;-)  just kidding, I don't really know what we're talking about either.

[Christopher B.]

http://vermicomposters.ning.com/forum/topics/flies-good-or-bad

[Ar-Pharazon]

Oh well.  We repeat forum topics all the time.  "I Killed My Worms" is a popular one.  ;-)

[Christopher B.]

lol, i bet it is, lol.

[Christopher B.]

I think her bin is actually in the basement. but i would not think that having some flies in the garage would be a big deal either. my point with the drying the bin out was not that that would be a solution for getting rid of the flies but that if u fix the problem (ie. to wet, etc.) the system will balance itself out. but that is just my assumption. I would also assume that every organism is there to play its part and that as a caretaker the goal would be balance?

[Ar-Pharazon]

Sorry, I think you're right, it's the basement.  Anyway, the point is they're in the house.  I've lived with fruit flies in the house (apartment) before, and that's not a place I would want to go back to.  If Michelle doesn't mind, though, hey fine.  :-)

Wasn't meaning to ignore your points about balance and tolerance.  I totally agree with those, and normally I advocate against senseless bug murder, but... fruit flies in the house is where I draw the line.