Are these whitefly? Apologies about the doggy photos.
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What ever they are. I now have an infestation in my dalek composter .
How do I get rid of them? My compost was starting to look quite good
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Looks like it! I'd be tempted to scrape the top layer of compost off and replace it with a lot of dry material, like shredded paper or woodchip. Spread the scraped compost out somewhere and hope that the cold weather will kill them off.
Basically, I have no idea!
Could be Psychoda surcoufi (moth flies)?
They do look like little moths. I’ll have a google, thanks
After a google they are moth flies. This doesn’t bode well! They’re also known as drain flies. Because they feed on decaying matter in very damp places, like drains. Can’t find how to get rid of them from a compost bin.
Can you smother them with a layer of cardboard or plastic on the top of the compost?
Not really. Compost bin is only half full and all the moth flies are all up the sides and a small cloud of them come out as the lid gets lifted off. As well as being on top of the actual compost.
I was wondering if I could hang a fly tape in there? Not sure how much they fly around when the lid is on.
I wouldn’t mind hanging a tape in there because nothing garden friendly could get caught on it. But don’t know if that would do much.
If they feed on decaying matter, aren't they just helping to break down the compost?