Bugs that are specialized to eat decaying wood inside trees usually aren't able to survive for long in compost piles. If they do, they usually don't adjust well to the transition from compost to garden soil.

I regularly find crowds of big white grubs in my compost heap munching away on high carbon areas. Can't recall ever seeing one in the garden though.

All the best,
-Patrick

Patrick
Thx for the quick response. I guess it's nice to know that grubs can exist within compost bins/heaps even without voluntarily introducing them.
My concern arouse because I know that raccoons have used that tree to raise young. After I rescued the grubs and distributed them into my composter I later found the skull and other bones of decomposed baby raccoon(s). I worried that maybe the " tree guys " were mistaken and these were mammoth maggots. Would maggots be undesirable in compost bins or do they exist as part of the composting process as well?

I used to be able to sift through my compost with bare hands and revel in the richness I had helped to create. Now I'll think twice before digging in!! LOL

Oi, never seen or heard of maggots any larger than big rice grains. The ordinary kind rarely occur in my heaps, but I wouldn't worry if I found them there. "IALBTC." -- Prof. Dirt.

Seriously, though... barehanded working with soil is one thing, but active compost piles are built to encourage large and diverse populations of microlife. I still plant barehanded, but I never do any composting work without garden gloves, unless the compost is screened and aged. It's just too easy to get scratched -- or to encounter living creatures which don't enjoy being disturbed. :)

All the best Kanuk,
-Patrick

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!!

Grubs that eat decaying wood are going to be beetle larvae. They'll turn into things like stag or long-horned beetles. Most insects are fairly limited in what they can eat - they are nearly all specialists. Removing the grubs from the tree and putting them in the compost pile would be like removing squash vine borers and putting them in the compost pile (a silly thing to do, but stay with me here). Denied the living squash plant to feed from, they'd die. Same for the grubs.

There's no chance a tree-eating grub was also eating baby raccoons.

gamebird~Thanks for your insight. "A silly thing to do". No kidding! lol
I thought (or maybe not) that since they did such a good job turning the inside of those dead trees into beautiful compost they might be just as effective in the compost bin. DOH!! And who knows...maybe they were. Dunno!
Live and learn.
I would hate to see the beetles that these suckers would turn into! The tree was over 100 years old. These monsters were prehistoric! I don't even want to think about it.
lol
In regards to eating baby raccoons. I meant that in terms of a dead youngster(s) that may have been decomposing inside the cavity. Last spring we rescued 5 babies from that vary tree. Their Mother was killed on the highway and they were too young to survive on their own. I'm sure that one carcass I found was from that litter.
That's how my maggot query entered into the scenario.

Both you & madmagic have helped to clarify the issues surrounding my concerns. Thanks so much.

I've got some chickens and guineas who'd LOVE to raid your grub pile!!! They do love some grubs....

L

i have been composting in a rotating bin a couple years. get a nice product after a few weeks. but now, 3 months down the road on this 2nd batch, again its getting smaller...i keep adding but is still very small. there are some kinda grubs, 1/2" by 3/16" and yellowinsh white....

i suspect they are eating and turning their waste to gas.

there are lots,( hundreds?) in about 1 cubic foot of compost....it dryish, i have tried letting it go dry dry, and then wet and then more wet....no deterrents. the bin is in direct texas sun all day. i cleaned the bin once and started again...maybe i didn't disinfect?

shall i put boric acid in there with cornmeal? should i clean it all out and take to a chicken raiser?

anyones thoughts please ;-)

Any grub thriving on dead OM can be pretty much ignored because they (generally, no specifics here) won't hurt non-dead OM. They're just normal breakdown agents easier to ignore than to eliminate.

My compost piles are full of pillbugs and fig beetle grubs. I wear cloves because squishing a grub barehanded is ICKY!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figeater_beetle

I figure dead wood eaters in the compost heap just help to break down tough stuff like pine cones and poorly shredded sticks, so the microbes and bugs that prefer softer fare can make use of it. Am I mistaken?