Compost

Question

I have been making compost in a correct bin and have left it for two years. When I looked to see how it was getting on, it had a lot of pale cream/orange in color like eggs in it. They are grouped together like frog spawn and are about 5 mm big or should I say small. Are they snail eggs? If so, is my compost ruined and only good for the birds?

Thanks,
Michelle

Answer 1

Snail eggs and snails can appear in compost bins. Based on the description, you could also have fungi and you could be seeing the fruiting bodies, but it's hard to tell without a photo. Fungi in compost would be nothing to worry about.

You don't want to add live snail eggs to your garden, but if you can get the compost to heat up, that will kill the eggs. When the compost is finished, it won't have much for snails to feed on anyway.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/basics/heating-up-compost-pile.htm
If there are just a few snail eggs, you could always scrape them off the compost too.

Here is more information about identifying snail eggs:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/slug-snail-eggs.htm