How to keep Black Soldier Flies out of my dog poop worm bin

by Chris
(Philadelphia, PA, USA)

I recently started composting both dog poop and food waste in an outdoor worm bin. After a few months, I found what I originally thought were maggots in my bin but came to find out they were actually Black Soldier Flies (BSF). In doing some research, I determined that BSF can out compete the worms and should be picked out (something not so pleasant in a bin full of dog poop). The larvae just keep coming back though and so I was wondering how to prevent BSF in my worm bin? The worms seem to be doing fine. Should I just stop worrying about the BSF?

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Mar 31, 2023
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starstarstarstarstar 		Re: composting dog poo
by: Stephan

Hello Irey,

using composted dog poo as fertilizer for edible plants is a highly debated subject. In short it is probably best to use composted dog poo mainly for ornamental plants as there will then no danger of contaminating fruit and vegetables with pathogens that might be present in the recycled dog poo.

Although there is a school of thinking stating that those pathogens should be completely gone once the composted dog poo has been stored safely for at least 2 years it is still regarded by most to be a better practice to use this kind of compost for ornamental plants only.

As for the eggs of chickens that might have eaten Black soldier fly maggots which in turn have been fed dog poo, I am not certain but would guess that the eggs of those chickens should not be negatively impacted. "However, as I strongly suggest that you do some more research on that subject before deciding what will be best for you in this regard.

Below are the URLs of 2 more articles we have published about the composting of dog poo and I hope that they might give you some more guidance about the subject.

https://www.worm-composting-help.com/dog-poop.html

https://www.worm-composting-help.com/dog-poop.html

I hope this will help you and wish you all the best for your dog poo composting project.

Kind regards

Stephan Kloppert

Author of "How to start a profitable worm business on a shoestring budget"

Editor of www.worm-composting-help.com
Mar 13, 2023
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starstarstarstarstar 		Composting worm poo
by: Irey

Thanks for your page. I think it's great that dog poo is being composted by soldier fly larvae. My question is, is it safe to use composted dog poo in an edible garden and is it safe to eat eggs from chickens that have been fed soldier fly larvae from dog poo compost.
Nov 04, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		Black soldier fly maggots in a worm farm
by: Stephan

Hello Chris,

although I always support the recycling of dog poop as well as food waste it can sometimes be better to recycle them in separate bins.

BSF are actually attracted by decomposing food waste and not by dog poop. So they usually won't be found inside dog poop worm farms. If left undisturbed Black soldier fly maggots can cause your worms to hide away in deeper parts of your worm farm and they will stop recycling completely. The worm farm will then become soggy and smelly and you might loose your entire worm herd.

So its best to remove the maggots asap if you can. Have a look at the article that I have written a while ago about the subject. You will find it at the following URL
https://www.worm-composting-help.com/maggot-infestation.html

I hope you will be successful. If you have further questions please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards

Stephan Kloppert
Author of "How to start a profitable worm business on a shoestring budget"

Editor
www.worm-composting-help.com

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