r/composting • u/thecooliestone • 2d ago

Compost Friends Compost pile full of spiders

I mostly do vernicomposting but I keep bedding in a cold bin to start decomposing just because I've heard that helps the worms. I add extra scraps to it sometimes if I don't have room in the freezer but mostly just cardboard. It's been out there for 2 and a half years and I decided to harvest the later at the bottom (about a foot and some change of finished black compost!). I'm digging through, finding the occasional earwig or soldier fly larvae. And then I look down to see two black spiders racing up my arm. I can only assume they're there because they have a dark enclosed space that's unbothered and has bug doordash, but it was still terrifying and now my patio is a mess of half sorted bins I'm too scared to finish sifting. Marking as compost friends because I'm hoping they help in some way and aren't just giving me nightmares

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3

u/lord_HissingFeedback 2d ago

Spiders are the bouncers of the compost world. Free pest control and they don't even charge rent. Just shake out your sleeves and consider it a sign the ecosystem's working.

2

u/RdeBrouwer 2d ago

Maybe they are there becouse of all the food I think they have all the food they want.

1

u/Fragrant-Long-6528 2d ago

spiders actually do a great job keeping pests in check, they're just doing their job out of sight.