Maggots
Paul asked 6 years ago
I’m getting hundreds of tiny white maggots inside the Bokashi bucket, under the lid and on the sides. What can I do about this please.??
Nicki Casley Staff answered 6 years ago
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your question. Although maggots in your bokashi bucket can be pretty disgusting, they will do no harm. There is no need to throw the bin of bokashi food waste away.
Maggots in your bokashi bucket will have come from an opportunistic fly laying eggs on your food waste, either in your collection caddy on your kitchen counter, or when you have been loading your bin and left the lid off for a moment or two. If you accidentally left the tap or lid open then this would give flies more opportunity to lay their eggs in your bokashi bucket.
Maggots hatch within 8-24 hours of being laid. However, maggots cannot survive in the bokashi bucket environment as it is anaerobic and acidic. Any maggots you see in your bokashi bucket will be small and will die quickly. They’ll even add a bit of protein to your compost!
Don’t be put off. Maggots in your bokashi bucket happen very rarely. Here are a few tips to reduce the likelihood of repeat problems:
1. Take a close look at your bokashi bucket. Is the lid sealing properly? Is there a split in the lid? Is the spigot closing completely? Any small gaps could allow flies to enter and lay their eggs.
2. Don’t leave the lid or spigot open for longer than is necessary to load food waste and drain the bokashi tea.
3. Collect your food waste in a sealed container before loading into your bokashi composter. Again, this gives flies fewer opportunities to lay their eggs on your food waste.
4. Ensure that you are adding enough bran. As mentioned, maggots cannot survive in the acidic environment created by the bokashi microbes. If you see maggots in your bokashi bucket or suspect that flies may have been in contact with your food waste, then sprinkle in an extra handful of bran to discourage them.
Hope that is helpful. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Nicki and the Bokashi Living team
Ariel answered 2 years ago
I have an open, outdoor bokashi compost pile that we’ve been making and there’s thousands of the little white maggots/ larvae in it. We’re already on Day 7. It’s hot in there, but it doesn’t seem like it’s killing then off. There’s like thousands of alive ones and they’re in the center of the pile, even where it’s super hot.Is our bokashi compost pile spoiled and we have to start over? Or what can we do? would love to receive you help!
Nicki CasleyWithout knowing more about your process, this is difficult to answer. If you are putting your food waste in the bokashi bin, and doing the bokashi steps correctly, BEFORE adding it to your outdoor compost pile/system (which is our preferred method), then maggots should rarely occur. If they do occur, then it’s likely that you need to mix in more dried brown material into the pile when you add your bokashi treated food waste to it. i.e. dont make just a pile of bokashi food waste, as this will be a wet mess that may be inviting to maggots. You need to build the pile up, effectively diluting the bokashi food waste with dried materials suitable for a compost pile. And as usual, make sure you bokashi bran is viable (stored correctly) and fresh (less than 18 months old).