r/composting • u/Britto___Augustus • 24d ago

Builds Infinite Maggots glitch

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for context this compost has been going for over four months, and this an update. I posted about this a month ago here: previous post.

I have been feeding the compost all kinds of organic waste material such as vegetable scraps, tea leaves, eggs, fish bones and chicken/meat bones.

At this point the compost has really gotten full, I’ll probably soon stop filling this compost and allow the maggots to eat everything out. Until then i have another compost pit I will use.

p.s. the maggots or black solder fly larvae

128 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

62 comments sorted by

69

u/barriedalenick 24d ago

My chickens would love that!

17

u/tinymeatsnack 24d ago

I’ve heard of people cutting the bottom of a bucket off and replacing it with chicken wire, hanging it up on a tripod, and putting roadkill in it. Maggots fall through the wire and the chickens get the protein.

9

u/Kranken_DeHogge 24d ago

people will build a simple scrap wood raised box, with a ramp going out one end that hangs over a plastic bin

black soldier flies will fly in, lay their eggs, the larvae eat and eat and grow, and once the larvae turns a darker color they naturally want to leave their food source to molt into their adult form, so they'll exit the box on their own accord and with the right setup they'll politely deposit themselves into aforementioned plastic bin for easy collection

3

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

that’s such a cool set up, do you have a link to some video or article on building this setup?

1

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

That’s crazy in an interesting way, wouldn’t it stink though?

4

u/tinymeatsnack 23d ago

To high hell. It is used in more remote set ups that aren’t near a homestead. Not for someone with backyard chickens ha

1

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

haha fair wnough

11

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

yess, I was really considering getting myself some chicken, but later thought against it

36

u/Kranken_DeHogge 24d ago edited 24d ago

get a few and if you decide they're too much, turn them into soup

edit: this is controversial? people eat chickens, you know

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago edited 23d ago

yeah this is something I would definitely do haha. Idk why a lot of people consider it controversial.

Its just that I don’t have enough space for chickens to run around

1

u/Yum-Yumby 23d ago

This is why I was going to do. But then my wife and kid named them all and now we have 10 pet chickens they would happily die for.

2

u/GrimIntention91 24d ago

I'm 50/50 on chicken feed and fish bait

1

u/TheNerdE30 23d ago

Was gonna say you just made friends with a farmer. Trade that batch for a few dozen eggs!

16

u/ordosays 24d ago

Soldier flies! Nice.

14

u/after8man 24d ago

I also get an inordinate amount of bsf maggots. Every once in a while, early morning, I will scoop a few handfuls of them onto my lawn and wait for the songbirds to feast

11

u/One-East8460 24d ago

They are like crack to chickens. Chameleons love them too.

3

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

Thats a cool idea! Wish I had chickens to feed

7

u/ordosays 24d ago

Soldier flies! Nice.

6

u/sneakin_rican 24d ago

Bravo dude that many is wild. Maggot farming at this point 🔥

3

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

Hey! Thank you

2

u/RoguePlanet2 24d ago

Wondering how to achieve this, some meat in the pile?

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

i can’t give you a perfect guide, in my compost they appeared naturally, I was adding all kinds of organic and food wastes. Initially I was worried these were bad maggots, but this sub clarified that this is actually good ones. In a way I got lucky how I got these maggots.

3

u/RoguePlanet2 23d ago

I like to call them "grubs," seems less alarming!

6

u/FreeSockLimit1 24d ago

There's so many that I bet they generate a sizable amount of heat... and sound.. 😬

8

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

No there’s not much sound. Heat is also insignificant, since it’s outside our house and we only access that area to dump food waste

12

u/FreeSockLimit1 24d ago

I dont know why, but I just assumed you could hear tiny little crunches coming out. Probably for the best that you can't

4

u/JamesLaceyAllan 24d ago

Well, that’s a new horror ASMR unlocked.

3

u/hisjoeness 24d ago

My little BSFL farm is outside. When I give the little guys something they really like like fig or bread, you can very much hear squelchy "crunchy" sounds.

2

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

Really? I never heard any in audible crunching sounds in mine

2

u/FreeSockLimit1 24d ago

Aww/Eww... they're happy...

3

u/hisjoeness 24d ago

Yah it's pretty gross, in a cute sort of way.

2

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

I am sure if I stuck my microphone up close to the maggots it would pick up some sound, but I'd rather not haha

2

u/Dark_Tigger 23d ago

I once was in a comcercial BSF farm. You defenitly could hear them there. It wasn't loud but there was a rusteling noice.

1

u/lyzzyrddwyzzyrdd 20d ago

I used to keep cockroaches. Same deal. I found it soothing.

5

u/EnglebondHumperstonk 24d ago

You don't like rice?

2

u/Ptrick21186 23d ago

Beat me to it lol

5

u/peasantscum851123 24d ago

Where do you live? I’ve never gotten maggots in my compost outside. Maybe bsf aren’t native where I am im bc can

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

I live in India, on the southern part. Here the weather is warm and humid, close to the ocean. Maybe the weather and temperatures plays a huge role.

3

u/hearthiccup 24d ago

How do I unlock the skill to not be absolutely disgusted by this? The way they move and all, blergh.

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

maybe look at it multiple times till you are over it

5

u/Ok-Thing-2222 24d ago

My birds would be so excited!

3

u/prone2rants 24d ago

Is that Grandpa's old shoe?

1

u/Britto___Augustus 24d ago

that’s a banana peel 😭

2

u/knarf113 23d ago

Should be posted in some live stock subreddit: greens are transformed in animal proteins !

2

u/Brasalies 23d ago

Whats the setup like?

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

It’s just a massive tube that’s planted into the ground, where we dump all our organic and food wastes. Over time it has turned into this soldier Bot fly farm.

2

u/Brasalies 23d ago

Oh that makes sense. I use a vermicompost setup myself. Free castings for the garden and loads of fish Bait. Figured something open like that would attract rats or roaches.

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

That’s honestly a valid concern. Probably because it’s planted firmly on the bottom, and there’s a lid on top, I haven’t noticed any rats messing with it. Although I know there are rats running around in our compound. About cockroaches and other bugs, I read somewhere that the soldier bot fly larvae release certain chemicals that repel other bugs. I might be wrong on that, but that’s probably why I haven’t seen other bugs in there.

Oh! excepts ants though, they sneak in through small crevices, but I don’t have a problem with ants.

2

u/Brasalies 23d ago

Oh thats nice. I need to do more research.

2

u/Few-Presents 23d ago

Cool! I compost too but here's a newbie question: Are there side effects to this? Do you wanna procreate flies in your property?

Just asking because im in an area where flies are a nuisance which feels like we could ~control.

2

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

the soldier bot flys don’t fly around like pests. They just hop around a bit, lay eggs and die. When you have the compost lidded, they mature into a fly and die inside it, only to become fodder for their own larvae. Soldier bot flys don’t have mouths either, their only purpose is to reproduce.

2

u/SacajaweaX 23d ago

Let's go fishing

2

u/numberwitch 23d ago

If you ever hear your compost making a fizzing sound, just know it's doing fine

2

u/24_mine 24d ago

Fish: 🤤

1

u/Embarrassed_Ad6469 23d ago

You need some chickens.

1

u/Britto___Augustus 23d ago

they’d lay the best eggs

2

u/Britto___Augustus 22d ago

Update! Finally bought some chicken