Should there be bugs in my compost barrel?

asnowracer

I got the kind you turn.sorry I'm new at this... I think I have too many greens and not enough browns. What are some easy browns I can get if I don't have any leaves around.....does dead grass count or is that a green?

asnowracer

this post didn't come out right. i realize  bugs are part of composting. I just wasn't sure if I'm doing it right because when I open it there are a ton of bugs flying out. I saw somewhere that if there is an odor that you don't have the right ratio of greens to browns and just want to make sure I'm doing this right.

So does your tumbler stink and does it have a ton of bugs?

blue_elle

We just have a rubbemaid bin rather than a tumbler, but there's no odor other than an earthy odor. If it smells or you have a lot of fruit flies your ratios are off. We do have a lot of bugs though - spiders, crickets, grubs - just nothing that flies out when we open it.

Dead grass is definitely a brown, also pine straw, shredded paper and paper bags, tissues, cardboard (torn up), dead leaves, ripped up cotton textiles, and even hair (we shave DH's head every couple weeks, so I sweep it up and throw it in the bin, lol).

 

blue_elle

Here's a great list of interesting things you can compost in case you've not seen in before:

 75 Things You Can Compost, But Thought You Couldn't

Mrs Manners

My ratios are off too. We have bunches of flying bugs and an odor. We eat tons of fruits and veggies so have lots of greens but the only browns we've put in are coffee grounds and egg shells. I don't use our grass because we're required to have it chemically treated and we don't have leaves. I'm thinking of asking a friend for some horse poop

Temp76535187505890

If you want to use your grass you'll need to dry it before adding it to your compost.  If you add it straight after it's cut then it's a green but it's a brown if you dry it first! 

hollyfp

Ours is a little over-buggy too - we have been digging into 1/2 composted leaf piles from previous years to add browns.

What we have also been doing is lining our kitchen compost pail with a small brown paper bag (the kind from the liquor store - we reuse them for for a while till they are pretty beat up) then throw the whole thing in when it's full.  Keeps the pail from needing a thorough washing every time we dump it, plus adding brown.

CarrieB.

you can use newspapers as browns. I think this time of year is just a prime time for bugs though. our compost is full of houseflies. its disgusting, but i'll just shove some more newspaper in there and they'll go away eventually.

howare

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