Fruit flies like a banana.
I posted a while back about starting a compost pile - I ended up getting a big Rubbermaid bin and poking some holes in it. I don't think there's enough in there for it to get hot, so it's slow going, but still going nicely. And the kitchen trash doesn't fill up as quickly now which is nice.
Now, when I decided to do this I was not under the delusion that it was going to be pretty - there's decomposing food involved, and so of course there will also be bugs. But we've got ourselves a fruit fly problem now. Whenever I go out to add more to the pile and stir it every couple of days, they're all over the inside of the bin and it's really disgusting. I've also seen a few flying around the apartment, and we keep our bananas and soforth in the fridge so they can't really get at them anyway... but still, they're getting inside when I open the door to go in and out, and this is not good.
I'm almost certain that it was the banana peels that we've been putting on the pile that got them there in the first place. So now I've got some questions:
1) I understand that fruit flies lay eggs in banana peels. I would really like to continue composting our banana peels since they break down fairly quickly and are apparently really good compost, but I don't really care for the fruit flies. Is there anything I can do to the banana peels (and any other pieces of fruit that might cause problems) that would sort of "decontaminate" them without compromising their value as compost?
2) Is there anything I can do to get rid of the ones that are already there, and which will discourage them from coming back? I've got a spray bottle that I use to mist the bin when it looks like it's getting dry - if I added lemongrass or peppermint Dr. Bronner's to that would it have any negative effects on the compost?
Now, when I decided to do this I was not under the delusion that it was going to be pretty - there's decomposing food involved, and so of course there will also be bugs. But we've got ourselves a fruit fly problem now. Whenever I go out to add more to the pile and stir it every couple of days, they're all over the inside of the bin and it's really disgusting. I've also seen a few flying around the apartment, and we keep our bananas and soforth in the fridge so they can't really get at them anyway... but still, they're getting inside when I open the door to go in and out, and this is not good.
I'm almost certain that it was the banana peels that we've been putting on the pile that got them there in the first place. So now I've got some questions:
1) I understand that fruit flies lay eggs in banana peels. I would really like to continue composting our banana peels since they break down fairly quickly and are apparently really good compost, but I don't really care for the fruit flies. Is there anything I can do to the banana peels (and any other pieces of fruit that might cause problems) that would sort of "decontaminate" them without compromising their value as compost?
2) Is there anything I can do to get rid of the ones that are already there, and which will discourage them from coming back? I've got a spray bottle that I use to mist the bin when it looks like it's getting dry - if I added lemongrass or peppermint Dr. Bronner's to that would it have any negative effects on the compost?