Are the ants really hurting the compost?

[PunkinPeep]

I started my compost pile in a rubbermaid container last spring-ish. But i haven't really been turning it....just adding to it.

I've noticed that ants congregate whenever i put fresh kitchen stuff in it. But then they're gone after a few days.....after they've gotten the sugar out or whatever they do.

Well, today, after reading about composting for a while....and remembering that i noticed that the bottom of the pile was looking a lot like actual compost, i decided to go stir up my compost to see if i could speed it up, etc. and so forth.

I saw the normal ant congregation feeding on yesterday's dump, but i ignored the ants and started stirring the pile with my shovel. :tools

I was delighted to see lots of squirmy little earth worms from the bottom layers of the pile, but then when i was done, i realized that i had mixed the ants in with the worms.

I panicked at first because i know fire ants will do some serious to an earthworm if he can't escape. But these weren't fire ants, so they might be o.k.

Anyway, back to my actual question.....
If i pay attention and just stir the compost when the ants aren't feeding on fresh food, are the ants really doing my compost any HARM?

I have read that they help aerate soil and so forth. But i've also read threads about people trying to find ways to get rid of the ants without hurting their compost and so forth. So are these just because these folks had fire ants and are afraid of getting stung? Or because ants are adverse to the composting???????

 

[injunjoe]

Very good question!



Joe

 

[patandchickens]

No. Unless you have some *other* reason to hold a grudge against the ants (e.g. they are fire ants OW, or they are infesting your garden beds and 'over-aerating' your plants' roots' soil) there is no problem with having them in your compost

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[PunkinPeep]

No. Unless you have some *other* reason to hold a grudge against the ants (e.g. they are fire ants OW, or they are infesting your garden beds and 'over-aerating' your plants' roots' soil) there is no problem with having them in your compost

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Thanks Pat!

Do you know if non-fire ants hurt the earthworms?

 

[patandchickens]

Not as far as I know, and I feel pretty confident about that although I can't sprout official references for it

Pat

 

[PunkinPeep]

Not as far as I know, and I feel pretty confident about that although I can't sprout official references for it

Pat

That's o.k. I'll take your word for it with or without sprouts!

 

[boggybranch]

I don't mind ants, and it's always fire ants, in my compost pile UNTIL it gets close to time to use the compost. I believe that they move "stuff" around in the pile, help break down kitchen scraps and help get air into it........but when it gets close to time to use it, I start "aggrivating" them by turning the pile several times, close together, and adding water.....they hate that and usually move out of the pile.

 

[bills]

Whenever I find an ant nest in my compost pile, I shovel the largest concentration of them into a five gallon pail, and dump it in the chicken run. Five minutes later, it's clear of ants. I rake it back into a pile, shovel it back in the bucket, and take it to the veggie garden..

Two things solved. Hens get a protien treat, no ants introduced to the garden.