Composting Without Fruit Flies!
Composting should certainly should be a part of everyone’s daily routine whether you’re on or off the grid but there has always been one tiny problem with indoor compost receptacles. The smell can be avoided with proper aeration and I don’t mind handling the stuff because I know it will give me nutrient rich humus in due time but what I couldn’t stand were the fruit flies! No matter how many I killed, there were always two more. I fought the fruit fly battle with yellow sticky traps, bated them with balsamic vinegar and various fruit juice concoctions and while these methods gave me some satisfaction in tallying a fruit fly death toll, it was a never ending battle!
Then I heard about this wonderful trick of using a scouring pad as a fruit fly impermeable layer to keep fruit flies out of your compost for good. You can be sure to kiss your fruit fly friends good bye by denying them access to their food. I chose to use a peanut butter jar for the container because I like the screw on lid. Fruit flies have a way of getting through the smallest of cracks and the screw on lid provides the tightest seal. The scouring pad allows air to pass in and out of the container so your compost won’t produce the disgusting fermentation smell that you would get with a tight lid. Here’s how to build one of your own fruit fly free compost receptacle.
Materials: old peanut butter jar, utility knife, silicon, scouring pad
Step 1: Cut a hole in the lid of the peanut butter jar with the utility knife.
Step 2: Lay a bead of silicon around the inside edge of the hole.
Step 3: Cut the scouring pad to fit neatly over the hole.
Step 4: Screw on the lid and collect your compostables fly free!
