I've found that the BSF maggots create the moisture via their effluent and that BSF maggots themselves appearing aren't a sign of too much moisture. My compost is in a vented rotating barrel and pretty much always has BSF maggots, no matter what I do. I've just accepted them. I have noticed a few things--they're great at breaking stuff down and my compost rots much faster than before. They make effluent so make sure you're either filling the compost with dry stuff constantly or have a place for the fluid to drain. I keep a bucket under mine and dump the liquid on my fruit trees, they love it. The buggers can survive sitting in the tub in the sun in the summer in Arizona. As long as you turn the compost a few times a week it doesn't go anaerobic. I use the compost with the maggots in it just fine, it has never damaged my plants. The maggots have a distinct smell they create that kinda makes me gag but if the compost smells like vinegar or crazy putrid rot from a distance, you need to start draining the liquid and aerating. So, weird smell when in touching distance, yes. Terrible smell everyone notices, no. And, I've never noticed swarms of flies in my area. Pretty sure I'm helping support the local bird and lizard population with all the maggots.

kimmsr and annpat: thank you very much for your quick responses. Correction: I started the wire bin in April 2008. Update: I also have an Earth Machine composter that I put my household refuse in. Every time I dump some refuse in, I top it with about 2 inches of oak leaves. --> I don't think it's ?working? I don't think it's heating up. (I don't have a compost thermometer yet). I don't even see things breaking down. Heck, it was breaking down more/faster when the refuse was in the tupperware container in my kitchen. --> Should I stir it around? I haven't yet (it's been ~5weeks since I started). So this wire bin is only for my insane amount of leaves from all my trees. But I was trying to speed things up a tiny bit, thinking I'll add some green in the middle to heat it up a bit. --> Isn't what I'm doing w/ the green/brown layers kinda like lasagna composting? I think I'll just stop putting greens in there and just keep piling on more browns (dried leaves). thank you very much. Amanda

If you leave moist leaves in a garbage bag or other closed container, sometimes you get leaf mold without trying. I collected more last fall than I could use before it got too cold, and it just happened there in the dark garbage bags. Those ugly brown crustacian pill bugs went to work along with some centipedes and other bugs and I had pockets of leaf mold in the bags, along with some unprocessed leaves. I guess this is no surprise to many here, but I was impressed with the little buggers, they punctured the garbage bags on the bottom and went to work. I want to add that, I spread fall leaves around my trees and coat with pine needles I sometimes can collect at the leaf dump and the pine needles help the leaves stay in place. It helps me save money on mulch. I do use wood mulch also but I can use lots less of the wood mulch. I must also add that I mulch around nearly all my trees, so I may be the only nut who even cares to do that. But anyhoo, fall leaves under some other mulches can save money.

Egganddart49, We both are using almost the same kind of leaves, thus we have a great example of what the leaves are doing and how different zones interact with basically the same kind of leaves. To me, gardening is about "point of view", how you look at it if you will. When I look at what you are saying this is what I see: Your zone is cooler than mine, thus you will have slower decomposition in your garden. The leaves you put down in the winter sat there due to low temperatures. What the leaves did is act like a security blanket for your garden. When rain or snow piled up on the leaves the water seeped through, not flowed. As the water seeped in it took some of the nutrients from the leaves into the soil with it. Because of the limiting effect of the leaves you suffered less leaching in your soil, this causes you to need less amendments for your plants. As well, you added nutrients from the leaves all winter long, this is a very good thing. When spring came you had to move those pesky leaves out the way, but what did you find underneath? You discovered soft tender soil, moist and happy that you are the owner of the garden. They proved their gratitude by giving you a good crop, and paid you back by making sure you did less work in the process. Shoot, if you stopped concerning yourself with how many leaves are still there and focus on what you want to better improve next years crop who knows what you will end up with. Now ole Blutranes on the other hand lives where it is mild in the winter. His mulch gets chomped on by the microbes the minute it gets warm enough outside. By spring most of his leaves are gone, but his soil is ready to go too. Blutranes enjoys the same benefit you enjoy, water seeps into his soil too; he gets those minerals from his leaves as well. Blutranes can plant earlier, but Egganddart can still grows just as good as Blutranes can in less time. They both are given extra time for other things due to some leaves they put on their gardens. Blutranes is sitting at his computer looking for more wisdom from others to use that extra time on. Egganddart can now make a decision what Egganddart wants to pull outta Eggs' hat next. Work in the garden is good, less work even better IMO. I conclude that you have discovered a way to do more with less and save some money, and get a mater or two out the deal. Sounds like a plan over here Blutranes