Question by Robert K: How to keep flys/maggots out of green food waste recycling bin?
Aside from regular cleaning, the bin is swimming with maggots a few days after garbage day. I keep it outside of my garage. I won’t keep it inside because of the smell and I’m not really a big fan of maggots falling out into the garage.
I had a composting bin for about 10 years, but then I removed my garden (too much work, no time) so no need for compost. Then the city introduced the food waste recycling program so we need to use the green bin in lieu of home composter.
Best answer:
Answer by L M R
consider purchasing a composting bin. There are hundreds of designs from small for apartments and porches or large sizes for yard and garden organic materials.
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I’ve found that a tight lid seems to work. I have a bin in my kitchen with a lid, but when I move it to the green waste outside it usually attracts flies and I get maggots.
Pressure wash the green wheelie after it’s next emptied so that you start with a clean bin, then make certain that any food leftovers that might attract flies are firmly wrapped in newspaper – several layers if necessary – before putting them in the bin. If the bin’s clean to start with, you might consider bringing it back into the garage, as at least then you’re likely to get less flies in it. Lakeland stores sell a biodegradeable powder to put in your wheelie to cut down on odour, but the key is in that wrapping. In South Cambridgeshire we’ve a fortnightly green bin collection, which is fine in winter, but when people complained about both maggots & rats in the summer, the council advised that meat products could be put in the general household ‘black’ wheelie collection in the summer months.
Strange, Maggots usually only eat meat, sounds like you need to sort the garbage better, food waste does not normally include meat products just greens and non meat stuff.
If you like to go fishing, start a small worm bed…they love any edible organics…just bury it in the bed and no flies can get to it, and you also have bait! A galvinized steel tub with small holes in the bottom would be perfect…start with top soil, keep fed and damp, and the worms will do the rest…I found that jumbo red worms work best…I hope this will work for you.