Tiny bugs in my leaf compost?

M

Mojave

Well-Known Member
I left my leaf compost outside for 2 days and then brought it back into the garage. I can see lots of the little tiny fast moving bugs on/in the container. They are Slightly larger than a period. Any idea what they are, and if they are good or bad?
 
Dang.. I think they are mites... There were none in the compost whatsoever until i put the container outside... Ugh.... I was good to use this stuff very soon.. What should I do now? Toss it out or is there anything i can do to get rid of these things? They were even getting all over me when i was handling the box. So i now need to worry about bringing them inside accidentally. I did sprinkle a few tablespoons of neem cake in there, dunno if that'll help or not. I also thought about sticking the container inside my old truck so that it heats up to over 140f, that should kill anything right?
 
I'll see about getting a loupe! These guys are quite fast moving and resistant to being squished with a finger. I'm reading they could be predatory/worm bin compost mites which are different from spider mites.. Which would make sense since the compost bin is hot and humid. And spider mites don't like humidity.
 
Man i would just toss it i just had to kill 6 plants of my own to stop a spider mite infestation from getting bad. These are plants that usually yield between 5-8oz per broke my heart to do it but had to. I wouldn't even risk it if you think its mites
 
Ugh.. Man not looking forward to that. Guess I'll start another batch and see what happens. Seems odd it would be spider mites since its all dead leaves though. But it definitely is some kind of mite.. I'll try and get a loupe and take a pic with my phone.

Thanks for the help Explosive, sorry to hear about your plants

In the mean time, I stuck the bin in my truck. Might as well fry the bastards.
 
Mojave said:
Ugh.. Man not looking forward to that. Guess I'll start another batch and see what happens. Seems odd it would be spider mites since its all dead leaves though. But it definitely is some kind of mite.. I'll try and get a loupe and take a pic with my phone.

Thanks for the help Explosive, sorry to hear about your plants

In the mean time, I stuck the bin in my truck. Might as well fry the bastards.
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Yea i'm just sharing my experience if you let them build up an infestation it becomes impossible to get rid of them (some people succeed but i've read my share of horror stories to not risk my entire operation over 6 plants) Hope all works out for you. They could be russet/broad mites i don't know much about them but i know they are much worse
 
Mojave said:
I'll see about getting a loupe! These guys are quite fast moving and resistant to being squished with a finger. I'm reading they could be predatory/worm bin compost mites which are different from spider mites.. Which would make sense since the compost bin is hot and humid. And spider mites don't like humidity.
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Do they jump and are the white in colour??? :-)
 
Nope, fast moving, pretty sure 8 legs, kind of a light brown.. I think* I'm colorblind.
I just went and checked my bin after being inside my truck all day.. Lol, chernobyl.. Not a damn thing moving. Heat has to be over 140 possibly more. Gonna let them cook another day then check.
 
Mojave said:
Nope, fast moving, pretty sure 8 legs, kind of a light brown.. I think* I'm colorblind.
I just went and checked my bin after being inside my truck all day.. Lol, chernobyl.. Not a damn thing moving. Heat has to be over 140 possibly more. Gonna let them cook another day then check.
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If they dont jump that rules out springtails :-)
 
Mojave said:
Nope, fast moving, pretty sure 8 legs, kind of a light brown.. I think* I'm colorblind.
I just went and checked my bin after being inside my truck all day.. Lol, chernobyl.. Not a damn thing moving. Heat has to be over 140 possibly more. Gonna let them cook another day then check.
Click to expand...
Sounds like spring tails. They can be different colors and sizes. Before you toss it google it they are sign of health in your bin and beneficial in soil.
 
KryptoBud said:
Sounds like spring tails. They can be different colors and sizes. Before you toss it google it they are sign of health in your bin and beneficial in soil.
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Vermicompost tends to attract another small moving tiny bug which i forget what its called, it dosent jump and is also quite harmless, easy to google.
 
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