Compost bins are a great and efficient way to get rid of any unwanted garden waste, from lawn clippings to weeds and faded flowers.
But, as handy as they can be, they often attract unwanted visitors and pests to your garden, and sometimes home, in the form of rats or flies.
Swarms of flies constantly hovering around one section of your garden can spoil the entire plot as they feast on the bin’s organic contents and use the moisture for hydration.
Not properly burying your food waste or other rubbish will run the risk of flies targeting other sections of your garden in the long run, focusing their attention on nearby plant stems or leaves for sustenance.
Thankfully, there is a relatively simple way of counteracting this common issue and ensuring your garden has a well-run and maintained compost bin.
For those who do not yet own a compost bin, they are generally worth the investment for most gardeners, offering a variety of benefits, chiefly reducing waste sent to landfills.
They also create a nutrient-rich soil to use on your garden and allow for money to be saved on commercial fertilisers.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends choosing “a compost bin to suit the amount of space you have available and the quantity of waste your garden produces.
“For beginners and those with a small garden, a compact plastic bin is often a good choice. Larger gardens and allotments may be able to fill a large wooden compost ‘bay’, such as those made from pallets.”
The gardening charity also shares some tips on maintenance, including how to deal with the aforementioned issue of your compost bin attracting flies.
“A well-run compost bin won’t produce swarms of flies,” The RHS explains, adding But if they do appear, cover any kitchen waste with garden waste and check that the contents aren’t too damp, which can lead to insufficient aeration.”
Proper aeration allows for efficient decomposition, providing oxygen for bacteria and fungi, which are the primary decomposers in a healthy compost pile.
Other issues, such as having your compost become wet and slimy or even dry and fibrous, with little decomposition, are addressed by the RHS.
The charity advises that if your compost is slimy or particularly smelly, it may be caused by too little air and too much water.
To fix, it recommends you “Cover the compost to protect against rain and add more brown waste, such as chopped woody material, woodchip, straw or shredded paper.
“Avoid adding too many grass clippings in one go – mix them with plenty of brown material instead.”
In the case that your bin’s produce is dry, with little decomposition, this is likely caused by too little moisture and too much brown material.
“Water the compost in summer if it looks dry, and mix in more green waste,” The charity explains, adding “In addition, for every 15cm (6in) layer of compost, you could add either: one bucket of fresh manure, or 270g (9oz) of blood, fish and bonemeal, or 140g (5oz) of sulphate of ammonia.”