What's in my compost bin?

[OllieMartin]

I can't see them that well. I'll have to get a magnifying glass. How big is the mite in the top picture?

According to Wikipedia an adult measures 0.5mm.

[taff]

loads of fruit flies might mean your mix is lacking a bit of brown stuff.

[Joe]

loads of fruit flies might mean your mix is lacking a bit of brown stuff.

A fair amount of browns in; some more ready to go in from the paper shredder. I didn't cover the last lot of veg waste though.


I've had another look at the critters. They look more like spiders than mites but they are minute so I can't really tell. They are definitely not red though!

[Joe]

Some of these creatures are spiders, others must be mites of some kind. They appear to be broader at the rear end. Any ideas?

[Reb Williams]

Could they be scale insects perhaps? they live off sap, they are small, same colour as yours, and there are various different types. Probably not a problem for your bin, because once things have decomposed, they will go away.


Reb
__________________________________

Should I publish -? vote at Grow Your Own Cows

[Joe]

Reb. No they aren't scale insects, these are smaller. They are almost too small to see. They must be common in compost bins because every bin I've ever used has had them at some stage.

Might it be something to do with Guinea Pigs because I compost their bedding and droppings?

[Joe]

I still haven't been able to name these insects in my compost bin. Surely there must be a list of the regular inhabitants of a compost bin.

As I said earlier my bin is actually devoid of most forms of life. My bin contains a few slugs, a couple of snails, a few hundred ants and three earthworms which I put in. One of these has since died. In addition to these inhabitants are unidentifyable minute creatures.

In a compost bin I would expect; worms of various types, beetles, woodlice, ants, fruitflies, microscopic insects, funghi, etc. I would expect a fairly consistent list. Has anybody a definative list of what might live in a bin?

What are the spider like critters in my bin?

I still can't get a photo of these critters that always inhabit my bins!

[beckyinma]

Spider Mites

They are likely to be Spider Mites. Not insects, but they are in the tick/flea family. They reproduce quickly, and can get out of control easily, and often go unnoticed until they are reproducing in high numbers. I noticed them on my compost bin, inside, outside, covering the lid, and congregating around the vents in the top edge. What gave it away was when I scraped up a pile of them and it moved around. Dug out my microscope and sure enough, spider mites. If you Google Spider Mite infestation, you will get lots of good ideas on how to get rid of them from your composter. I'm going to try the rubbing alcohol spray first, as I don't want to contaminate my compost bin with chemicals.

Good luck.

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-ri...ider-mites.htm

Beckyinma

[Joe]

If they were spider mites they would congregate elsewhere as well as the compost bin. The only place I ever see them is in the bin and usually just under the rim. As yet I see no reason to get shut of them. I need to get a USB microscope or something to get a good photo of these critters.

Just remembered I left the lid off the bin last night so just checked it. They have disappeared. I expect that they will be back later. Does nobody else get these clusters of tiny creatures under the rim of their bin?

[FoxHillGardener]

I noticed the same thing for the first time the other day. I assumed they were baby spiders and ignored them. Will have a closer look tonight and see if i can get a picture

[FoxHillGardener]

Got some pictures.They're about 3mm long and I reckon 6 legs, so I retract my first guess of spiders

[Joe]

Those are great pictures. Those bugs seem larger than mine. Anybody out there know what these are? Mine are about 1mm unlike FoxHillGardeners. Mine are still too small to see.

[FoxHillGardener]

Do they look like this:

Red Spider Mite:

Mine up close are a different shape to those. sort of egg-shapped with the narrower end at the front. Millions of types of bugs out there!

[piskieinboots]

ants are a sign that the compost material is too dry

[Joe]

ants are a sign that the compost material is too dry

The ants have gone. It's these miniscule critters that I can't see clearly with my naked eye that I want to identify. I'd also like to know what these black flies are that are permanently copulating. There are hundreds of them!