Technically, Black Fly Larvae (BSF) will not harm red worms. However, the conditions that BSF like are not the same conditions that the red worms like. BSF are prolific when there is too much water and/or too much food in a bin for the worms. Reduce the amount of food going into the bin and back off of the water added. Most people that ask me about this issue also see improvement when they stop blending any food inputs, as well. Add more carbon based fiber, such as coir, paper or straw. Since you fish, though, you might find it interesting that fish love BSF, and some are finding a booming business selling BSF to fishermen.

Patrick/Prof. Dirt ~ Thx again. You're right about the "barehanded" thing. That was actually a mistake on my behalf. I do wear gloves. However I never used to be afraid to lift a gloved handful up to my nose for fear of seeing an ugly-white- monster-grub looking back at me. We live on a 2 acre woodlot so most of our compost comprises of shredded dry leaves & woodchips( run twice through chipper/shredder). I use the "hot pile" method to compost. I find I only have to use a small amount of nitrogen based ingredients (approx. 3(C):1(N) ratio). I hand dice/slice/chop all green, nitrogen rich ingredients well before. I mix everything(shredded leaves+veg.scraps) together prior to putting into the bin. Voila. Full bin heats up and ready to use in a 3-4 weeks. That's beneficial because our gardening season is short. I could eat my mix before I actually plop it into the bin. That is if you're fond of chewing dead leaves & wilted greens. LOL I don't use egg shells or that sort of thing in the bin. Vegetable based only(carrot tops/beet leaves/etc.) I contain everything in closed bins with mesh wire flooring that have never allowed rodents etc. to enter. Prior to adding the "larvae" I never had any surprises or meat protein to worry about when digging in ... But thanks again for calming my larvae/grub/maggot concerns/phobia once again. PS. I won't be adding anything like that to the "mix" again. Yuk!!

See what I mean about conflicting reports on how beneficial these can be? My compost pile has definitely been untended. I saw the grubs when I first turned it after a winter of leaving it alone. Here a post saying that the grubs are beneficial: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2002013027009234.html Here's another one on the exact same grub, saying that they can be very destructive to your lawn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fruit_beetle And Soldier fly larva are pretty much acclaimed for being helpful, so we should be careful lumping everything into a single category. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=802&storyType=garde I was hoping for a solid ID on what kind of grubs I had in my compost, but my pictures may be too fuzzy for anyone to tell for sure. Here is a link that might be useful: Soldier Fly Larvae

Are grubs particularly beneficial in a compost pile? Not really. Are grubs particularly harmful in a compost pile? Not really. Do they need to be there? Not really. While grubs do consume your compost they are not particularly good for finished compost since they do not do to the waste material you compost what the bacteria that you want digesting it do. Simply because some critter eats the material yo put into the compost pile does not necessarily mean that critter is beneficial to your compost. Skunks also eat what is put into compost bins, but I can think of no one that would say they are beneficial.