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Make sure you're putting brown material in your pot with the scraps. Cover fresh scraps with a layer of newspaper, sawdust, etc. to keep the contents dry.

I'm not certain but I don't think they are necessarily harmful.

I just checked out out a vermicomposting program (which ironically means using worms to create compost) and noticed a lot of other "bugs" coexisting with the worms.

I guess when you are working with dirt and rot it's sometimes hard to pretty it up.

I dont think they are harmful, but I dont think flies in the kitchen is good either
I would make sure you pail is air tight. Flies cant lay eggs if they cant get into it.
ti kill the maggots just put the pail in the freezer overnight

I am interested in one of these kitchen pails too, but I didn't think I could handle the "sludge" inside, so I was going to use a Biobag to line it and then toss the whole thing in with my lawn clipping recycle bin. I read about doing this in an article somewhere. Does this sound ok?

I agree with Hollie that you should just get an air-tight container. Your crock is cute, but it has holes for flies to get in to!! If you really don't want the maggots, cover the container!

Thanks for the tips! I picked up a box of biobags and am going to try those out.

The holes in the top are where a charcoal filter is to keep it from getting too ripe smelling.

I checked around a bit on my own and the maggots are good the outside composting, but not in my kitchen. We took a break for the week (we're also not home that much) and we'll start next week with the biobags and a designated freezer spot for my cute little container.

Aimi - can newspaper be composted? Even with the ink?

If moisture is a problem, try taping a pack of silica gel (comes in shoe and electronic boxes) to the inside of the bin. They pull up moisture, and as long as it's taped to the side, it shouldn't get into the compost.

I would recommend that you not keep your compost on the countertop, because your container doesn't look to be air-tight. I keep my container in the cupboard under the sink. Despite that fruit flies have been known to plague my apartment, neither they nor their maggot babies have appeared in my compost.

EmmieB-
Newspaper can be composted (not colored pages or glossy inserts, however). If the compost will be used for fertilizing decorative plants, any black-ink newspaper is ok. If the compost will be used for food-producing plants, you should only use newspaper that is printed with soy-based or vegetable-based inks. Call your newspaper company to find out what kind of ink they use.

Adding dry vegetation sources will help & is best for the compost.

But some of us are limited in getting a hold of sawdust or dry leaves.

I live in an apartment complex that has almost no dry material (tree leaves) around. So, I gather fallen dry leaves from closeby public places. I also ask the landscape workers at my jobplace for some of the leaves that they gather up in bags & I bring those home in a bag.

I'm curious as to how others handle this kind of situation.

I use an airtight Rubbermaid container (the kind people keep cereal or other dry goods in). We've only occasionally had problems with fruit flies. Looks like the container above isn't airtight.

Hm...under the sink...

It's not airtight. But we push the limits of how long it should hold decomposing food...due to the lack of an outdoor space.

I'm going to find out about the newspaper because that, plus under the cupboard (it doesn't fit in the freezer, BOO!) might do the trick.

Thanks! You guys ROCK. There's a reason I'm addicted to this site.

Maggots are the larvae of house flies, not fruit flies. If you have house flies and they lay eggs that survive, maggots will be the result. So it's the house flies you want to deal with if you don't like maggots. Fly strips might be a way to deal with them. Or getting friendly with spiders (my solution).

They are just bugs, though. If they are laying eggs in your compost then hopefully they aren't laying them elsewhere.

Fruit flys have maggot babies too. but they are so small you usually dont notice them, which I personally find grooser than fly babies.

The fruit fly trap that was on this site before works like a charm, by the way!

Your composter may be cute but it is not practical. Too often, what should be useful household objects are rendered unuseful when too much attention is paid to the design, and not the function, of the object. With a glazed ceramic container (which does not "breathe") and ventilation holes only at the top of the lid, you are creating a very moist environment - ideal for fruit flies and maggots. If you want to keep emptying your food scraps only once a week, I suggest getting an unglazed pot or one with ventilation holes near the top of the base, not only in the lid.

I don't have a new solution for the compost..like others I keep it in the freezer but I do have a solution to the flies that lay the eggs.

Take a ziplock freezer bag and fill with water. Hang the bag on a nail (put a hole in the top portion of the bag above the zipper portion) over the outside of your door(s). Something about the reflection from the water confuses their sense of direction and they will not cross the threshold when you open your door going in and out.
In addition, humans (much like other animals) rarely ever think to look up, so it's hardly ever noticed.

I live on a farm with LOTS of animals (and flys!) and munchkins running in and out of doors all summer. Those sticky fly traps are just gross to me. My Namaw (moms mom) told me this solution and it really does work!

I haven't had this problem, I think coffee grounds work well to keep things airy, but then again i dump my compost daily as long as my composter out back is active. Maybe there is an issue with what is going into it.