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Have you ever had this situation in the home as we had? It’s been scorching hot for a couple of days, and yes, as the trashcan is not full yet, you have decided not to empty it.
You wake up, and low and behold. You find all these little critters roaming around the kitchen all over the floor. You stand still, give a shudder and think, your home has a maggot infestation.
How did that happen? You start sweeping up the pest on the floor and empty the trash can to give it a cleaning. You go outside only to find the trashcans also have a maggot infestation. You shudder again and wonder what kills maggots.
Now you wonder what caused this invasion! We want to help you stop maggots from popping up unexpectedly for a visit. So relax and read on to find out how to solve your maggot problem here using boiling water and bleach.
What Causes Maggots in the Trashcan
During summer, the heat rots garbage faster and turns into a foul smell that is a bonus for maggots. When your trash starts to deteriorate, the fly lays eggs, and maggots breed out. The maggot is the fly larvae as they lay their eggs in the food.
The same happens in nature when the lion catches a buck. Once the hyena and vulture eat the leftover, the fly comes and lays its eggs. The fly larvae come out and eat the rest of the bits providing a cleanup for nature. For this reason, maggots play a crucial part in nature.
While feeding on the garbage, it turns into a pupal stage then into the fly. However, you do not want the maggots part of your waste disposal as it can spread disease. When someone eats contaminated food with the maggots, you can become unwell. For this reason, killing off maggots is crucial.
The fly can lay up to hundreds of eggs and start hatching within a day, turning into maggots. That is why you might find maggots in amongst your rubbish. Get rid of maggots in the trash can as soon as possible, because if you leave them, they will eventually turn into flies.
How Do You Get Rid of Maggots?
It all depends on your personal preference as you can do it naturally or use chemical products such as Clorox bleach to kill maggots.
The important thing is to remove all the food sources to prevent the fly from laying eggs in it. If the maggots have invaded the home, you can use a broom with a dustpan to pick it up before killing maggots to prevent a mess in the house.
Once outside with the dustpan, pour boiling water over them to kill them. Using boiling water helps to kill maggots instantly.
Now, it helps if you throw out the trash, and yes, you may have an infestation of maggots outside. Once emptying the waste bin into the outside trash can, you can cover the maggots with a solution of lime or vinegar. Some people also swear by using salt to get rid of maggots.
When using any of these ingredients to kill maggots, it helps to close the lid as the gas suffocates the maggots and dries them out.
Alternatively, you can mix one part bleach with one part hot water to pour it over the maggots to kill them. The crucial thing is to clean your trashcan out after the garbage disposal removes the trash. It helps to wash it out with hot water and adding a cup of bleach with one and a half a cup of peroxide to wash the bin out.
Other Methods to Kills Maggots
Take a large pot and place it on the stove with a gallon of water. Set it too high and bring it to a boiling temperature. When the water starts to bubble, add one cup of bleach. Take the boiling water with bleach and pour the solution over the maggots outside, as it will kill them instantly.
You can use the same method by pouring the bleach with water inside the trash can and closing the lid. On the other hand, using natural methods also helps to kill maggots. A great way for killing maggots is using a solution of diatomaceous earth sprinkled over the maggots to dry them out as it sticks to the body to kill them.
Furthermore, you can use a mixture of water with cinnamon to pour it over them. It helps to make sure it is a mixture of 1/6 cinnamon with 5/6 water mixed in a bowl. The process is long and can take up to six hours to kill maggots. Using the method also helps prevent further infestation.
Instead of using cinnamon, you can replace it with cider vinegar. While using these methods from dilute bleach-to-bleach solution kill maggots, the crucial thing is to take precautions to prevent the maggots from returning.
Take Preventative Measures to Prevent Maggots
To get rid of maggots, one needs to take measures by starting to keep the flies away. Try not to throw meat or fish in your garbage as flies breed in decaying flesh. To decrease the chance of an infestation, does not let excess meat lay in the trash.
Instead of throwing the meat bones away, make meat stock by dumping it into a pot of water and add some spices with bay leaves to simmer for an hour. Alternatively, you can place the meat/bones in the freezer until the day of garbage disposal.
If you need to throw it away, make sure to wrap it in a sealed bag to prevent the flies from accessing the meat. After cleaning the bins coat, the area with peppermint oil, eucalyptus, and bay leaf repel flies. You can dilute up to five drops of any of these oils in a spray bottle with water to spray affected areas.
Furthermore, you can clean the waste bin with one part vinegar with two parts water to wash it inside and outside. When finished, wipe it with a clean cloth to dry it and leave it standing in the sun. Empty the trashcan whenever it is full and keep it clean at least once a week.
You can add some drops of your preferred essential oil to the bleach when cleaning out the trash.
The Garbage Disposal
If you find maggots in the garbage disposal, switch the fuse controlling the unit off with tongs and remove trapped food. Take a tablespoon of bleach and dilute it in one gallon of water to pour it slowly down the disposal. To prevent food from getting stuck, you can run the unit longer to dispose of the food and prevent a grease buildup in the drain.
Precaution is the Best Cure
Maggots need moisture to survive, and by removing it help to keep them away. Check if the trashcan has a buildup of dampness at the bottom after cleaning it.
Remove the water by keeping it dry after washing and adding the trash to it to prevent maggots from returning. You can keep food preparation surfaces dry with silica packets at the bottom of the garbage, as it is a natural absorbent to draw moisture away.
Furthermore, you can place mothballs as a last resort—the mothballs filled with insecticides. You can place up to two mothballs at the bottom of the trashcan to repel maggots. However, never leave it standing around food.
When keeping your home disinfected and removing the trash regularly, it helps prevent maggots to other rodents infesting your living space. Some herbs you can keep in the house are basil plants, as flies do not like the smell. You can even place a bowl of cloves in each room where you experience a problem with flies.
Another natural product that works well to prevent maggots is cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, lemongrass, and eucalyptus oils used in a spray bottle. The essential oils make your place smell tremendous and deter pesky flies that leave maggots.
Lastly, before we greet you, always keep the counter in the kitchen wiped clean and ensure that the bins concealed. Use your bleach to keep everything neat and place the fruit in the fridge. Doing this will help keep flies and maggots away.
Now throw away your toxic fly spray, make sure to keep the tea towels clean, and start recycling the newspaper. Now you can relax and head out to the beach to enjoy some sun. Chow for now until we meet next time.
