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We have a stainless can (foot petal lid) and has a plastic liner. (no wasted bags).

BUT fruit flies are horrible with just a little compost in bin--what is the answer to either the fruit flies or some kind of compost bin for INSIDE home but doesn't attract fruit flies?

THANK YOU!

Is this can just the intermediate step before taking it outside to a compost bin? I don't have problems with fruit flies in my compost inside the house, but we generally empty it daily or every other day. I find the main ingredients in our compost banana peels and coffee grounds do not make a pleasant aroma in the house so we tend to empty it frequently. For indoor composting I'd go with worms, but my daughter built a worm composter at a summer camp she went to and it was more trouble than it was worth since I already have an outdoor compost unit and mild winters that don't prevent me from accessing the unit year round. I dumped the contents of her worm composter into my outdoor unit and now I have a boat load of worms in my composter. They are thriving in there.

Try some vinegar in a saucer or dish near the compost. See if that will draw/drown them. Most of the time it will work.

I use a plastic coffee can with the lid on for my compost. Because I live in Pa & never know about the weather, when it's full I put it in the freezer till I have 2 or 3 and can get to my compost bin----depending on the weather. No problems with fruit flies.

quote:

Originally posted by tuppermern:
I use a plastic coffee can with the lid on for my compost. Because I live in Pa & never know about the weather, when it's full I put it in the freezer till I have 2 or 3 and can get to my compost bin----depending on the weather. No problems with fruit flies.

We could fill a plastic coffee can in a day or two at our house. Fortunately our weather in NC means my compost bin is almost always accessible. Every once in a while the lid will be frozen shut in the morning but by lunch we can open it and dump our compost.

Typical contents of our compost: coffee grounds, egg shells, apple cores, orange peels, carrot peels, banana peels, the core to a head of Romaine lettuce. We don't use a lot of prepared food at our house and usually make a salad every day so the compost-able stuff can add up quickly.

Wish WE LIVED in North Carolina!!! I hate winter but live in eastern PA. (love Pittsburgh by the way my hubby is from that area).

BUT our compost is a distance from the house and sometimes the snow and/or freezing rain means we can't get to it. SO sometimes it's four days between trips!

I have a plastic soda bottle with vinegar/water/detergent but that didn't really help and I tried with plastic wrap across the top with tiny hole but caught about 3 flies!

One thing I did notice one time was solid covering of inside with eggs---so I took it out on the porch and sprayed with with bug spray and no bugs for about 1 month! MY hubby rinses the big each time he empties it.

HATE fruit flies!

Be certain they are not fungus gnats...they look much like fruit flies...but will also migrate to your plant's moist soil to lay eggs as well as drains. I use hydrogen peroxide in my soil that tends to do job, but also use the yellow whitefly traps and some clear window clings that have something to attract them then they get stuck....maybe some of these traps in perimeter of your bucket would help decrease the population. Not sure you want to be spraying much in there for your compost pile quality?

YES THEY ARE AWFUL...worst thing I hate is they aim to fly in your eyes nose mouth to seek moisture!!! Basically you have to eliminate them AND their source sometimes....else have bucket outside?! Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by marcydaisy:
Wish WE LIVED in North Carolina!!! I hate winter but live in eastern PA. (love Pittsburgh by the way my hubby is from that area).

I grew up in Camp Hill (Harrisburg area) and worked in Philly for 3 years, I much prefer central PA to Eastern PA.

In winter I use a gravity composter. The lid has never frozen on it.
The Tumbler is stored. Compost won't cook in winter (not far from Pgh., by the way).
The only reason I use the gravity one is because I refuse to put kitchen fruit and veg. waste into the garbage. I keep an old garbage can near the composter and regularly toss in handfuls of shredded leaves.
Never had a bug problem. Kitchen composter has charcoal filters. Keeps the odor down and I dump the compost at least weekly, if not more frequently--depends upon contents.

Mine gets emptied every couple of days and down here we don't get cold enough to get rid of the bugs. I don't have a problem inside...just at my larger container outside that accumulates until there is enough to bother putting it into the compost barrel. Since it's outside it doesn't really bother me...but sounds like yours may to too wet. Try putting any used paper like paper towels or napkins in it when you have them. I put mine in there except for greasy paper towels.

I have a little bucket with a lid...maybe holds a quart...recycled from something. I put scraps in it, put the lid on, and generally take it out daily. If not, I put it in the refrigerator.

SPARKY----I grew up in Paxtang, Harrisburg PA--and went to Central Daughin HS! Have cousins living in Camp Hill, Shiremanstown area went to
Credar Clift HS.

Small world!

quote:

Originally posted by marcydaisy:
SPARKY----I grew up in Paxtang, Harrisburg PA--and went to Central Daughin HS! Have cousins living in Camp Hill, Shiremanstown area went to
Credar Clift HS.

Small world!

Marcy,
I went to Cumberland Valley. I had cousins at Mechanicsburg and a lot of friends from Scouts and Church at Cedar Cliff HS and Camp Hill HS. I used to have an office in Allentown that I visited a couple of times a month back in the mid to late 1980's when I lived back in the Harrisburg/York area. I miss living near family but I don't miss winter. My teens love Hershey Park and so do I.

gardeners.com sells fruit fly traps at a reasonable price (for them),