Composting Guide: Troubleshooting your compost pile

Composting is a part of the self sufficient lifestyle: Troubleshooting your compost pile

Posted by Kevin Quinlan ADD COMMENTS

You can check on your compost bin every single day and still have problems with your pile. Careful monitoring will allow you to catch these problems early, but you will still have to troubleshoot them to get your compost bin back into shape.

Flies

If you see a large number of flies buzzing around your compost bin, chances are your balance is off. In many cases, this is a case where you compost pile has too many green ingredients and not enough brown ones. If you dispose of a large number of fruits in your compost bin, you may see fruit flies attracted to the area.

If you look inside of your bin and it appears to be very moist, go ahead and add some brown ingredients and give it a good stir. The carbon filled brown ingredients will help to eliminate some of the moisture and your fly problem will quickly dissipate.

Rodents

Unfortunately, rodents can become a nuisance if your compost bin is full of discarded meat scraps. One way to prevent these creatures from disturbing your compost pile is to purchase a rodent-resistant compost bin. If you would prefer to stick with your current compost bin, simply add a layer of brown overtop any meats that you add.

Ants

Too many brown ingredients and not enough moisture can lead to a serious ant infestation. If you see ants crawling all over your bin, get those green ingredients in there quickly!

Stink

Oddly enough, a well balanced compost bin does not smell bad. If you happen to notice an unpleasant smell coming from your bin, take action. The first thing to try is giving your compost pile a good stirring. If this does not solve the problem, add additional green or brown ingredients to change the consistency of your compost.