What insect is causing those nasty bites?
Q Hi, Patrice:
We have been longtime composters in other areas of the country. We now live in Benicia and have a question we haven’t seen addressed elsewhere.
We have what we think are no-seeum bites that begin every May and go through July, which ruins our summer. (Mike in particular gets HUGE welts. He’s the gardener). The only thing we do differently from our neighbors (who are not getting bitten) is compost.
The first year we moved here we did not have a compost pile, and we were not bitten, so we have narrowed it down to this being the problem. We compost well and efficiently. (He is a master gardener.) Most of the time the pile is covered with clear plastic so it will “cook.” Even this has not deterred the awful bugs.
Have you heard of this before, and is there anything to be done besides to stop composting?
Thanks so much, Cyndi
A Dear Cyndi:
I’ve been composting in this area for almost 40 years and have never had any issue with biting insects in or around my compost pile. I asked some other longtime composters if they experienced any issues such as yours, and they have not. I checked with Steven Andrews, consulting soil scientist and longtime composter, for his opinion, and here is his response:
“No-seeums aren’t typically associated with composting. Without knowing more about feedstock, size and location, it’s hard to diagnose the exact pest problem, but my guess is fleas.
I have seen fleas in poorly managed piles. The fleas are introduced by hitchhiking on mice, rats, squirrels or other flea-carrying critters. A population can be sustained by the moisture and surface temperature of a pile with blood meals from critters looking for food or using the pile as habitat.
The compost may be a convenient gathering place for the biters, but not the source of the problem. The area around the compost should be checked for holes, tunnels and nesting materials that could be housing critters carrying blood-hungry bugs.”
Since you are not seeing any small insects around the pile, I asked Steve if he would recommend placing a yellow sticky trap nearby to help determine what the pests might be, and he agreed this would be a good idea. Hopefully you have success in trapping something and can take the trap to the Solano County Agricultural Department or the UCCE Master Gardeners of Solano County for identification and control recommendations.
You mention that your pile is covered in clear plastic to heat it up. The heat generated from a compost pile is produced as a byproduct of the microorganisms and bacteria that break down the organic material, not heat generated from a plastic covering or the sun.The heat production of a pile depends on the size, its moisture content, aeration and the carbon/nitrogen ratio.
Using clear plastic for heating the soil (soil solarization) is usually recommended as a nonchemical way to control soil-born pests. This involves placing clear plastic directly on top of a garden bed to heat the top 6 to 12 inches of soil. Heat generated by solarization kills off potential weed seeds and other pathogens in the soil that cause problems in the garden.
To find out more about soil solarization and composting, visit the UC Davis IPM page http://ipm.ucanr.edu
Patrice Hanlon’s Garden Coach column runs here on the second Sunday of each month. Send your questions to thegardencoachBANG@gmail.com. Find all of her columns at https://www. mercurynews.com/author/patrice-hanlon/