Overwhelmed compost pile by

[SGTdebo305]

Hello guys, so I am doing a compost pile for the first time and I’ve noticed it has been overwhelmed by ants I’m not sure what I am doing wrong I don’t want to let my chickens at it to till it and get eaten up by the ants. What can I do? Or is this normal?
I do put scraps like bell pepers onions egg shells tomatoes and other things in there I’m not sure if thats attracting them

 

[PirateGirl]

Why are you worried about the chickens getting eaten up by the ants? Are they fire ants or something dangerous? Generally I'd say the chickens would love to snack on the ants.

 

[ShannonR]

Not something that I worry about, I've had it happen too. Lots of different bugs will inhabit compost, it's part of the process.

 

[SGTdebo305]

Why are you worried about the chickens getting eaten up by the ants? Are they fire ants or something dangerous? Generally I'd say the chickens would love to snack on the ants.

I wasn’t sure if the ants would be too much for the hens although I have 11 but I wanted to double check before I made a mistake. Thank you both for the advice

 

[Acre4Me]

Why are you worried about the chickens getting eaten up by the ants? Are they fire ants or something dangerous? Generally I'd say the chickens would love to snack on the ants.

I thought so too, but not always! had lifted a paver in the run one day, small ants were underneath, so I showed the girls who ran over to start pecking/eating the ants...until the started running up their legs, then the girls ran off and did not come near till after the paver was replaced.

 

[Acre4Me]

Hello guys, so I am doing a compost pile for the first time and I’ve noticed it has been overwhelmed by ants I’m not sure what I am doing wrong I don’t want to let my chickens at it to till it and get eaten up by the ants. What can I do? Or is this normal?
I do put scraps like bell pepers onions egg shells tomatoes and other things in there I’m not sure if thats attracting them

Curious, where are you generally located? You can add this to your profile.

I’m in OH, so no ants in Feb! Bugs are part of compost, but if you have a serious number of ants, I would wonder if you put anything with added sugar in it (even say the last of the OJ, or something). The sugars will attract more ants. Are you turning it over at any point? Is the pile really dry? Compost piles need moisture to properly break down, so can water it, or put a basic roof/cover over it if you are in a hot dry area to help keep in moisture. Cover can be on a hinge so pile can be turned or collected without cover in the way. Any cover needs to allow airflow, so, a “roof” type is better than a tarp, which would restrict air.

Good luck.

 

[Rietta]

I get fire ants in mine, then I just disturb the heck out of them daily with a pitch fork until they move on. Ants are generally always in my compost, the good and the bad.

 

[SGTdebo305]

Curious, where are you generally located? You can add this to your profile.

I’m in OH, so no ants in Feb! Bugs are part of compost, but if you have a serious number of ants, I would wonder if you put anything with added sugar in it (even say the last of the OJ, or something). The sugars will attract more ants. Are you turning it over at any point? Is the pile really dry? Compost piles need moisture to properly break down, so can water it, or put a basic roof/cover over it if you are in a hot dry area to help keep in moisture. Cover can be on a hinge so pile can be turned or collected without cover in the way. Any cover needs to allow airflow, so, a “roof” type is better than a tarp, which would restrict air.

Good luck.

I’m in Texas we have ants everywhere lol I haven’t been paying as much attention as I should to it. I haven’t been able to get it hot

 

[Rietta]

my hot pile consists of mostly hay 80% and then the rest a mix of chicken poop, rabbit poop and kitchen scraps. I try to use hay with least amount of chemicals because those do transfer to the garden. Rabbit poop can go straight into the garden and not hurt the plants, I have rabbits specifically for this ( and the fact they are a threatened breed on live stock conservancy list). I think the chicken poop with the correct amount of brown material and moisture is what makes mine compost like crazy. I flip it into a second bin after it starts to cool, where I add material not containing chicken poop to continue the composting and into a 3rd bin to finish before moving to the garden. Hope you can get it heating up!

 

[SGTdebo305]

my hot pile consists of mostly hay 80% and then the rest a mix of chicken poop, rabbit poop and kitchen scraps. I try to use hay with least amount of chemicals because those do transfer to the garden. Rabbit poop can go straight into the garden and not hurt the plants, I have rabbits specifically for this ( and the fact they are a threatened breed on live stock conservancy list). I think the chicken poop with the correct amount of brown material and moisture is what makes mine compost like crazy. I flip it into a second bin after it starts to cool, where I add material not containing chicken poop to continue the composting and into a 3rd bin to finish before moving to the garden. Hope you can get it heating up!

Thank you it defenetly looks like some good dirt a lot of the seeds have gain in it