Fruit flies, or any other flies, in compost are there because the material is too wet, not because the compost is no good. Understanding how and why fly larva of any kind hatches and grows, warm and moist environment, can help explain why they will sometimes be flitting around compost piles. Whomever told you the compost was no good does not know what they are talking about. There are those that think certain flies are okay and maybe good, but because fly larva needs a fairly moist environment to grow in the presence of them in your compost is an indication it might be too wet.

A few more thoughts: A compost pile made with fresh manure will run hot and will not have worms in it to begin with. Decomposition is done by a wide variety of microbes and insects at higher temps. Worms only inhabit cool piles. The 'worms' that affect animals are different species entirely from earthworms and one should not assume that medications for one will affect the other. They might, they might not. Finally, vet drugs (and human ones too for that matter) undergo a battery of tests in order to be registered for sale in the US. This includes internal metabolism, where and how much of the original compound is excreted, and how fast it breaks down after that. So there is at least some attention paid to that issue. The dilution effect and the general probability of breakdown causes me to not worry about vet medications in manure. I am much more concerned about the persistent herbicides in the hay they ate because there is actual evidence of it harming gardens.

kimmsr, Disagree with you, simply based on experience. I used to have lots of grubs in my very moist compost before using BT. Rarely see a grub of any kind anymore, using the same methods/materials with the addition of BT. http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/bacteria.html States: Primary hosts: caterpillars; some BEETLE and fly larvae. Also states: "Over 90 species of naturally occurring, insect-specific (entomopathogenic) bacteria have been isolated from insects, plants, and the soil, but only a few have been studied intensively". So I give credit to BT. I put some good soil in my new compost piles, which has had applications of all commercial BT strains, so I can't say which one (if any) are at work against grubs. Doesn't matter to me. So I give credit to BT, et al. - and don't have names for the other 86 or so insect-specific (entomopathogenic) bacteria spoken of, OR other such non-specific bacteria that may not have been identified yet. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2500.html : 'Grubs' is a 'generic' term, used for larvae of a large group of beetles called SCARABS. The most important species are: Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman; May or June beetles, Phyllophaga spp.; northern and southern masked chafers, Cyclocephala spp.; and black turfgrass ataenius, Ataenius spretulus (Haldeman). Other, more localized, white grub pests are: European chafer, Rhizotrogus majalis (Razoumowsky); the Asiatic garden beetle, Maladera castanea (Arrow); and the green June beetle, Cotinis nitida (Linnaeus). Option 4: Biological Control - Milky Diseases - Several strains of the bacterium, Bacillus popilliae (bacterium is extracted from Japanese beetle grubs and is most active against this species), have been found that attack white grubs...Unfortunately, recent studies in Kentucky and Ohio indicate that the currently available products have NOT PERFORMED WELL IN OUR SOILS. (caps are mine). Goes on to say that parasitic nematodes are a up to 80% effective, but "...do not appear to be effective from one season to the next". So you can take exception with me if you want to - your opinion is just as valid as mine - but now let's hear from YOU about your EXPERIENCE with grubs... Robert

Ahhh... wow. Never know what you'll find when you google. There was a thread - many threads no doubt, on this subject but at least one to which I contributed a couple years back. I googled and found this on pinterest, which I've never even visited; it's my kitchen!: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/44543483788641019/ Let me report that a couple years forward I consider my long-standing compost issue a complete non-issue now. All those years buying expensive compost buckets that break, being given wacky devices with filters and odor soakers and the rest .... all nonsense. For me, the solution was simple in the end. I have two sinks. Next to one is built in an open shelf, into which I set a plastic square food-service type bin. They're cheap, about $5 for the container and the same for the cover. They are, therefore, easy to replace for little money, but being plastic and a heavy duty good quality plastic at that, just don't need replacing. I think I have replaced them once in a couple years? Or maybe I just thought about it ... I do find that the opaque and not clear bins are better. Having an open shelf for the bucket makes it easy to just stuff the container in there off the counter when I am overtaken with a rare fit of cleanliness. I usually grab it back out within 5 minutes, but it's easy when the shelf is open like that. I have three bins total, a 4qt one and 2 2qt ones. The 2 qt ones fit, end to end, in the space as pictured on pinterest. It's the top of a totally groovy, very expensive rev-a-shelf double bin trash pullout. The cans are stainless steel and hence worth their weight in gold, evidently. The small sizes work great for me, I think the small container is 10L and the larger is 20L. Here's the piece. On top of that plastic shelf you can make out above the section the bins pull out of, is where I set the two smaller food service bins. Wow, Look at all the products this company has. The bins are called Camsquares, but any food service store will carry them for cheap. My cabinet is taller than the pull out bins need so as to leave space up top on that plastic shelves to set the compost. Those go at the food cleanup sink, the larger bucket at the prep sink. I prefer smaller bins for all of the above and just to take it out more often. Smell is *never* a problem unless I forget that third container back there! Which is just as well, how else would you know there had been an oversight? Do search the archives on GW on this topic. The subject has been explored for years. Some folks have some pretty imaginative solutions, with drawers that have overlids, and inset circles into the counters, etc. For the long haul, I recommend simple=good. Grunge happens and builds up and I think it's better to have cheap, easy, replaceable with time. I scrub my bins every time they come back from a compost dump but still, eventually they get a little grubby. I have nothing invested in plastic tubs, so that's easy to just change out.