I recognize that cockroaches are helpful to decomposition, but I feel like my situation is getting out of hand.
I work on a composting site that is on a school campus. It is about 50 feet away from a school building in one direction (separated by asphalt), and in the other direction is also 50 feet away from the house of someone who lives next to the school (separated by dirt and leaves, and then for a short stint, the concrete of their driveway).
A few months ago, this resident of the house was complaining about the smell. We had a really pesky murder of crows that would disturb the piles which led to loose food waste being scattered about.
I have since (for the last two months) been covering my piles with tarps, which has effectively kept the crows away, but now has invited cockroaches into the pile.
It started off with a few, but has quickly turned into many. Today I pulled off the tarp and was a bit unsettled by how much they have multiplied this past week.
I am concerned for the day that the decide to spread elsewhere, or if they multiply to an unmanageable amount. As of now it seems they do not want to leave the tarp, anytime I move it they quickly run underneath it, but I am concerned at some point they will multiply beyond what the pile is providing and will start spreading. No one else has seen this but me, so I’m trying to figure out what to do about it. I’m concerned if I try and remove the tarp for an extended amount of time they will decide to scatter to the house or the school. Really unsure what to do, somebody please help!