Maggots!

My biggest fear came true.

Today, when I opened up the bottom compartment of my worm bin I found a whole litter of white, inch-long wigglers feasting on my organic matter. It didn’t help that my compost didn’t smell like its usual earthiness. It, in fact, smelled like dog shit.

The chickens luckily were on hand to help me cull the nasty willies, which actually are soldier fly larvae (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), harmless creatures that are heat tolerant and very aggressive eaters. I had some moldy rye bread mixed in the worm bed that didn’t help the smell much. While the hens feasted, I gave the worm bedding a good turn to give it some much-needed air and emptied the worm tea that had collected. I’m hoping for the return of that lovely, earthy smell by the end of the week.

In the meantime, I hope I’ve eradicated the larvae problem, at least temporarily. It was good for the chickens – just not good for me. Ick.