How to Get Rid of Flies in Compost Toilet?

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A composting toilet is a great way to reduce water usage and save a lot of money. But, on top of this, it is a less impactful form of waste management when it comes to environmental concerns.

However, if you have opted to use a compost toilet, you may have noticed that you are dealing with a little bit more of a fly problem. So how do you clear out these flies in your compost toilet?

The strategy is quite simple, and there are several options. The biggest thing is to ensure that your compost pile is always well mixed. This way, the food, and other waste don’t sit around, rotting and creating an environment where larvae can bloom.

Along with that option, though, there are tried and true tactics that you can do to remove flies from your compost toilet. So keep reading, and will take a deep dive into those in the hopes we can help you.

Does Every Composting Toilet Attract Flies?

Flies are part of a group of insects known as the decomposers period. Basically, this means they take organic material and break it down into even simpler matter. Because compost toilets are made with organic material, it’s inevitable that flies are going to be present.

After all, certain types of flies and larvae are important to the decomposition process. They tend to help aerate the pile and break down the compost further. If there becomes too much of an infestation, it may be time to try to troubleshoot the situation.

Understanding the flies that are going to be present in your compost toilet can help you determine whether it’s time to take action.

Much like traditional compost, compost toilets are going to attract things like vinegar, fruit, house, and soldier flies. Of these, the ones you have to be cautious of are the house flies.

 

What to Add to Compost to Remove Flies?

If you are suffering from flies in your compost toilet, you may want to know how you can discard them. There are a lot of different techniques you can use, both man-made as well as natural.

One of the options you have is to add things to your compost that are going to change the composition of the compost. Here are a couple of things that we think might help you:

Add more brown materials.

These serve as a food source for the microbes and other organisms that dwell in the soil. Along with this, it helps build the pile-up and can create better airflow through the compost toilet.

Raising the pH level can also be very advantageous. You can do this in a multitude of different ways, including adding lime, wood ash, or baking soda.

 

What Are the Natural Solutions For Getting Rid of Flies?

Many people opt to use compost toilets because they’re very environmentally conscious. That being said, using lime fertilizer and other man-made materials may be something that is not on the plate for them.

But they don’t have to worry because there are also many natural solutions that you can use to remove these flies.

Here are some natural solutions that you can use to get rid of flies in your compost toilet:

Exactly right. Moving the compost toilet could be a potential option. This, of course, depends on how mobile the unit is.

Moving it into a very well-lit area with direct sunlight could clear out some of the flies. Though flies do like warm environments, they don’t like particularly hot, and if the temperatures rise to a certain level, it could kill the larvae before they’re able to hatch.

Try creating natural traps. These can be created utilizing vinegar or even fruit. All you simply do is choose your core materials to grab yourself a plastic container and some Saran wrap, and you will be able to build a natural flytrap. It won’t clear out the fly problem altogether.

A very simple option would be to take some fresh mint and throw it into the compost toilet. Utilizing fresh mint will create a stronger aroma. It is well known that fruit flies do not like the smell of mint at all.

On top of the advantage, it also could help with other smells and make them a little less pungent.

Try planting deterrent plants around your home and composting the toilet. Plants like basil, meant (as discussed above), lavender, and lemongrass are all plants that fly and tend to steer clear of because of their strong scents.

You can also use these same plants but in an essential oil form and place them around the area of the compost toilet.

 

Can You Use Bug Spray For It?

Whenever bugs appear, it is natural for many of us to reach for that spray can of bug spray and begin trying to remove the problem period. However, when doing this in regards to a compost toilet, you are defeating the purpose of what you’re trying to do.

Though you may be trying to discard flies, utilizing the bug spray, you’re awful at killing off the good bacteria and bugs you need for your compost toilet to actually work.

So unless you’re using an all-natural spray that utilizes one of the essential oils from above, it’s best to stick clear of bug sprays altogether.

 

Can You Permanently Remove Flies In Compost?

You don’t want to completely discard the bugs and bacteria that are present in your compost altogether.

However, if you are dealing with fruit flies, you do want to try to remove them. We’ve given you a lot of tactics, but one of the easiest ways is to ensure that your ratio is in the compost toilet.

This is a 2-to-1 green material to brown material. So for every bit of food waste or other natural bits of waste that are rich in nitrogen, you want to find something that balances that out that is rich in carbon. These tend to be brown.

Though this won’t remove the issue with the Flyers altogether, it will reduce them and make it less of an irritation.

 

Final Thoughts on How to Get Rid of Flies in Compost Toilet

Compost toilets have a lot of great advantages, but along with this, you are dealing with a rotting material. That means that there are gonna be bugs and bacteria present. Getting rid of flies when it comes to your compost toilet is important, but you have to be careful.

Some flies will naturally help the process you’re trying to complete. That being said, we hope that the tactics and tips that we’ve given you can help reduce the presence of those flies and make your life a little easier.

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