Compost pests?

[blossom]

Hi all,

is it bad to have ants and woodlice living in my compost bin. Mine has a little door on the bottom which I took off today to get some air in at the bottom and there is an ants nest and loads of woodlice.
There were lots of nice good worms though.
If they are bad, how do I get rid of them? I did have an ants nest last year and used ant powder on it then. Is there a better way?

Thanks

[poultrychat]

I don't know about the woodlice but I have always been told that ants in the compost means the compost is too dry so try adding a bit of water and they should pack their bags and go and annoy you somewhere else instead!

[blossom]

Thanks very much,
I will do that now.

[sewer rat]

Ants also have an aversion to boiling water !

[blossom]

LOL, unfortunetly so do worms.

[eskymo]

My compost bin was infested with ants and I tried the water trick and it's made no difference. I watered the bin everyday for a week - each day pouring in one watering can full of water...I also moved the contents about with a fork so as to disturb the ants further, but it's still infested with them unfortunately.

[Jaxom]

I have an ants nest in one of my srawberry pots. I water it everyday but they are still there. At least the pot has good drainage.

[poultrychat]

I'm sorry to say it works on mine every time, ants like dry ground not damp ground

[martinxxxxxx]

I have Rats in mine and would like a method other than fighting them witht the garden fork toget rid of them

Help

[voodoo veg]

Do you feed the birds Martin as any "food" in the vicinity will encourage your little friends to stay!!! Maybe stop putting any potential "food" items, even raw, in the bin for a while...if the food supply dries up he may decide to move on...GOOD LUCK anyway!!!!!!

[voodoo veg]

Just another thought...what about reporting to Local Authority??? They are meant to get rid of pests and vermin...of course this depends on if you want them to live or if you mind the council "disposing" of them