Black soldier fly larvae took over my compost bin overnight

I tossed in a bunch of watermelon rinds last Thursday and by Friday morning that bin was crawling with thousands of BSFL. They were everywhere, on the lid, the sides, even creeping out the bottom drain holes. I panicked and almost dumped the whole thing in the woods behind my house. Good thing I didn't, because those larvae ate through every scrap in like 3 days and turned it into fine crumbly compost. The chickens went nuts when I scooped some out for them, best protein snack they've ever had. My neighbor in Portland said she's been breeding them on purpose for her flock. Anyone else accidentally hatch a swarm and then find out it's actually a blessing? I'm thinking about buying a separate bin just for them now, but I want to know if they attract predators or cause any other issues first.

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robinson.quinn24d ago

Honestly I would pump the brakes on the separate bin idea. Those larvae showed up because your bin got hot and wet and full of melon, and if you build them a dedicated home you have to keep feeding that thing or they die off or wander. The bigger issue nobody mentions is that when they finish eating and turn into flies, you get a cloud of adults looking for somewhere to lay eggs, and mine kept crawling up the sides of my garage. Raccoons and possums dug through my bin twice once the larvae got thick, way worse than with regular worms. It worked out for you this time because the timing was lucky, but a swarm that size can also crash your bin temps and wipe out your red wigglers if you keep both. I'd just let the compost do its thing and scoop larvae for the chickens when they show up on their own.

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