Give Black Soldier Flies a Chance!

HL writes:

“David,

Recently I watched a video of yours in which you mentioned not being thrilled with black soldier fly maggots as composters because they flew away with your fertility. I myself are thrilled with them because they quickly dispose of garbage and I can obtain fertilizer easily by pouring water in their bin and letting it drain out  the bottom as “maggot juice.”  I get at least one bucket per day of stinky maggot fertilizer this way. I think most of the maggots who migrate out of the bin get eaten by small local wildlife.

Maybe you can give BSF another chance!”

Attached was this photo of a nice black soldier fly bin:

It’s rather like my worm bin:

A tub and a drain with a bucket – my kind of simple!

As for not being thrilled with black soldier flies as composters; yes! that dislike is indeed based on how little compost they leave behind. The maggots are voracious, eating everything they can in a furious orgy and then pupating and flying away with MY COMPOST in their bodies! People talk about how BSF are super efficient at disposing of waste. It’s just… I want some of that waste in my garden, not off in nature somewhere where I can’t get it.

That said – I appreciate the email. HL obviously has a good system going and is doing something I have not tried by using the leachate for fertilizer. It may be a good replacement for what we lose.

If the BSF larvae were also going to chickens rather than being eaten by nature, the design would be stacking functions, permaculture-style.

Thank you for making me think, HL. It would be interesting to make a new bin and test out how the leachate works compared to worm bin leachate, which I am using the same way.

There are so many good ideas out there it’s going to be hard to try them all in one life.

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