Ok ok ok. Perspective and knowledge are power. Yes they need a way out, young larvae burrow down for moisture food and safety, adults burrow up looking for dry and light escape. Don't worry tho, some will make it, and breed 100s more! Yes BSFL are voracious eaters but we don't rely on food waste for mass in the compost, it becomes dense nutrient after being eat by larvae and insects. BACK are SUPER BENEFICIAL if you do not like house flies. The larvae and adult BSFs don't eat the flus themselves however the flies eggs are a SUPER TASTY TREAT to the BSFL and I have seen a SERIOUS reduction in the house fly population on my farm. Once you have them in the compost they pretty much take over. No BSFL do not stink, it is anaerobic bacteria breeding that stinks. Brew up some lactobacillus acidophilus and put that liquid and the cheese into the pit. You will notice the larvae look clean after an hour, the cheese curds are a SUPER nutrient rich tasty treat and your compost will have a sweet and sour smell. Check out http://theunconventionalfarmer.com/recipes/bim/ for some of the most valuable information I have ever read! HAPPY GARDENING!!!

The bedding used for vermicomposting creates a very nice environment to raise fly larva, maggots, because it contains the food they like, decaying vegetative material, and the high moisture levels needed to support them. For those maggots present a light dusting of a desiccant, such as blood meal, can help and keeping the bin covered with a good window screen should be enough to keep the adult flies away so they do not lay more eggs.

Hi Phyl, It sounds like you have some type of Stem Borer. The best thing to do is cut down all the stalks, make sure you get all of them picked up, and dispose of them in the garbage or burn them if you can. I just did a little search and found one called a Stalk Borer that seem to like Rudbeckia. It might be the one you have. Here's the info: Stalk borer, Papaipema nebris. This insect is a borer in aster. This borer infests an occasional stalk of many kinds of herbaceous plants and it frequently causes rather severe injury to dahlia. As a rule its presence escapes notice until the plant begins to wilt. Then it is too late for the plant to recover. The larva tunnels up and down inside the stem, and the top portion usually wilts and later dies. There is one annual generation. The moths emerge in September and October and lay eggs on the stalks of their food plants, in which stage the insect passes the winter. The eggs hatch in May or early June. The young larva begins to feed on the leaves of the nearest food plant, and later tunnels in the stem. The mature larva is nearly 1 ½" long, grayish brown with one white dorsal stripe and two white lateral stripes on each side. On the front half of the body the lateral stripes are interrupted, and the lower brown stripe extends forward onto the side of the head. Burning all the old stalks, if allowed, and destroying weeds at the edges of the garden helps control this insect. When needed, methoxychlor, which is among the compounds registered for use against this pest in Connecticut, applied as a dust, in June, should control this pest. Consult the label for dosage rates and safety precautions. Hope that helps, Remy

These aren't pot worms though from what I can tell, they are much shorter and segmented, not stringy. In my original post there is a photo attached.