I work at a natural foods store in the produce department. We take all of the unusable vegetable matter and put it in our compost pile which is turned once a week. The problem is the compost is FILLED with roaches. It is weird to see. Will this compost clear up eventually? are roaches in compost ok? Is there something we can do about this problem. The piles are in bins approximately 4x4. We add all vegetable matter, straw, coffee grounds (coffee shop right next door).
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Utah
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Re: compost hell
Mon, September 3, 2007 - 2:23 PMYuk! I don't have that prob.
I looked this up and found a similar request on another forum (not tribe):
forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/...516.html
Posted by parad0x Z7 Philadelphia on
Mon, Aug 21, 06 at 19:06
We've had a slight german cockroach problem in our kitchen this year, not too bad....usually just a couple in the dishwasher or a cabinet when we wake up in the morning that I zap with orange guard spray. I never really thought it was connected to my compost, but I just had a scare. I had got my pile to cook up to about 135-145F for a few weeks, then slightly cooler....maybe 110-120. We just went out of town for a few days, and the temp was about 100F, and the pile had pretty much dried up, and I believe it's mostly browns once again, and it's crawling with baby german cockroaches! Yikes! I gave it a few good turns, and wet it down as best I could before the mosquitos got the best of me....what else should I do? And why'd they decide to invade the compost...never seen em anywhere near the pile before tonight?!?!
Thanks!
Todd In Philly
* Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio on
Tue, Aug 22, 06 at 10:07
Cockroaches are decomposers just like fly maggots, worms, dung-type beetles, some grubs, and many other creatures you would not want to have in your kitchen. The simple cure for roaches in your kitchen is to dust some boric acid behind your refrigerator, stove/oven, dishwasher, and in the corners of your lower kitchen cabinets, especially near the plumbing pipe penetrations through the walls. Once you do that, all you'll see is dying cockroaches until you see them no longer. I moved into a roach infested apartment in 1981 here in San Antonio. I dusted the kitchen and bathrooms with boric acid and never did anything again for 6 years. After the initial kill off, I was roach free even as the apartment manager sprayed every apartment but mine - they never came into my apartment. You can find boric acid in any box store with a label for roaches.
But as for your compost pile, just leave the roaches alone and pretty soon the toads, lizards and birds will discover the hoard of food. They will come in to balance any perceived overpopulation for you.
Here's some good news. Dead cockroaches are a green!!
Posted by gpclark zone 8 Del Rio TX on
Wed, Aug 23, 06 at 23:00
I had roaches in my pile, German and the big ugly "waterbug" ones. I watered the pile and flipped it. For about two weeks I flipped it twice a week. I don't think they liked that so they moved on. OH I also added some greens to heat things up a bit. But no chemicals!! I sprayed the walls of my home with something I got from the feed store so the bugs would not move in and they didn't. I can handle the German roaches in the pile but thoses flying UGLY "waterbugs" Man they are really scary, they run at you when you try to kill them. Good luck -
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Re: compost hell
Mon, September 3, 2007 - 2:31 PMAlso found this tip re lime:
Unwelcome visitors?
Ants, cockroaches, mice or rats can sometimes make your compost their home.
Do not despair, there are millions of friendly creatures in your compost heap and some simple methods to get rid of the unwelcome ones.
Fix it!
* Always ensure food in the heap is covered (a layer of newspaper, mulch or soil can be used)
* Adding lime and turning the heap discourages ants and cockroaches
* Placing fine wire mesh under the compost bin or heap will help keep out mice and rats
* Avoid placing dairy products, meat and seafood in the compost -
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Re: compost hell
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 7:35 AMI live in NYC, so am all to familiar with cockroaches. I've used boric acid to get rid of them, and yes, it works, but itsn't boric acid toxic to pets? And is it safe to grow stuff in soil that has come from boric acid-treated compost?
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Re: compost hell
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 10:35 AMSooz, I don't the author was advocating boric-acid use in the compost pile, I think that bit was meant for dealing with the in-house prob.
"But as for your compost pile, just leave the roaches alone and pretty soon the toads, lizards and birds will discover the hoard of food. They will come in to balance any perceived overpopulation for you. " -
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Re: compost hell
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 10:50 AMOK, I hit Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boric_acid
Salient points:
Toxicology
While strictly speaking, Boric Acid is poisonous if taken internally or inhaled, it is generally not considered to be much more toxic than table salt (based on its mammal LD50 rating of 2660mg/kg body mass).[1][this source's reliability may need verification]. The Thirteenth Edition of the Merck Index indicates that the LD50 of boric acid is 5.14 g/kg for oral dosages given to rats, and that 5 to 20 g/kg has produced death in adult humans. The LD50 of sodium chloride is reported to be 3.75 g/kg in rats according to the Merk Index. According to the Dutch Health Council(1998/19) Boric Acid should be regarded as if it impairs fertility in humans (R60).
However, it is toxic to unborn infants, and on the testicles of boys. Also, it has been associated with low birth weight, eye malformations and problems with the nervous system.
Medicinal uses
It can be used as an antiseptic for minor burns or cuts and is sometimes used in dressings or salves or is applied in a very dilute solution as an eye wash. (1.5% solution or 1 tbsp per quart of boiled water has been suggested for the latter.) As an anti-bacterial compound, boric acid can also be used as an acne treatment. Boric acid can be used to treat yeast and fungal infections such as candidiasis (vaginal yeast infections) by inserting a vaginal suppository containing 600 mg of boric acid daily for 14 days (PMID 10865926). It is also used as prevention of athlete's foot, by inserting powder in the socks or stockings, and in solution can be used to treat some kinds of otitis externa (ear infection) in both humans and animals. The preservative in urine sample bottles (red cap) in the UK is boric acid.
Boric acid has the distinction of being the only known acid that is actually beneficial (rather than harmful) to the eyes, and as such is used by ophthalmologists and in some commercial eye drops.
Insecticidal use
Boric acid was first registered as an insecticide in 1948 by the EPA for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. [2] It acts as a stomach poison affecting the insects' metabolism, and the dry powder is abrasive to the insects' exoskeleton.
Boric acid may be used either in an insect bait formulation containing a feed attractant or as a dry powder. The powder may be injected into cracks and crevices, where it forms a fine layer of dust. Insects travel through the boric acid dust, which adheres to their legs. When the insects groom themselves, they then ingest the poison, which causes death three to ten days later of starvation and dehydration. -
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Re: compost hell
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 2:42 PMAnd, in doing a search thru my source for organic standards, I found that it's classified as "A"- or accepted, rather than restricted or prohibited. This is by the BC organic standards.
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Unsu...
Re: compost hell
Sun, September 23, 2007 - 8:20 PMboric acid traps might be doable around the pile...have heard bad things about pets and animals with it though....i have never heard of anyone using this in the actual pile....you'd have to use so much of it, i tend to think it might be unsafe....if the roaches are really that bad, you prolly just have too much kitchen waste in there....dont know what you're space restrictions are, but try diluting the kitchen scraps with things that will get the temp up....grass clippings will help...oak leaves are good (not so much for heat as for more diverse set of nutrients)...add some manure to really get it cooking (horse bedding w/ sawdust/chips won't smell as bad and will add some slow releasing organic matter)....lime is a good idea (wood ashes may do the trick as well....careful with these though...read up first)....just be careful you dont have too much of any one thing layered....always want good air circulation through the pile or it goes anaerobic!....foul smells will definitely attract more undesirables -
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Re: compost hell
Tue, September 25, 2007 - 7:41 AMThe bins are 4 x 4 x4 chicken wire and it does have an abundance of kitchen waste. I work in the produce section of a natural foods store so we cull produce all the time and it goes into the compost pile layerd with straw and coffee grounds from a nearby coffee shop. It gets a huge amount of green leavey stuff like lettuce and greens. -
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Unsu...
Re: compost hell
Tue, September 25, 2007 - 8:04 AMchicken wire...cool...just makin sure it wasnt solid walled....try to thin out that veggie waste
dilution is the solution to pollution lol -
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Re: compost hell
Fri, September 28, 2007 - 8:01 AMI'm not an expert, but wondered about cardboard. I know that having equal amount of 'brown' is both necessary and difficult. Could Honey D's store use cardboard from boxes on a regular basis to balance things out?
T'other thing I thought when I read that coffee is brought by a neighbouring store, is that most people around there might be interested in contributing a solution to the smell. Asking for contributions of brown grass and leaves from where ever they want to bring it, might be a welcome chore. I'd suggest that it comes in bags, so that you can layer properly.
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