It’s taken me quite some time to finally figure out how to keep fruit flies and fungus gnats out of my worm composting bins, but after much exploration and failure I have finally discovered the secret. It is as simple as a large cotton (or other breathable) sheet draped over the entire worm composting system.
Fruit flies and fungus gnats breed either in the air while flying or on surfaces outside of the “nest” (aka: your worm composting bin). While it’s almost impossible to prevent the incoming larvae that may exist on the skins of fruits in your worm composting bin, the addition of the thin fabric sheet prevents them from escaping once mature to continue the breeding cycle. When you lift up the sheet to feed or check on your little squirming buddies you may notice a few flies fly out; this is ok as long as you put the sheet back on when you’re done so they can’t get back in to lay their eggs!
At long last, I finally have an indoor worm composting bin without a fly problem, and I owe it all to the extra bedsheet I had lying around. Want even more fly protection? Tape up a couple of fly strips along the interior sides of your bin to catch any newly hatched monsters as they crawl up the sides of your worm composting bin.
Good worming! Thanks for visiting Mama’s Worm Composting!