Kill Maggots

Maggots are fly larvae, and they can be hard to eliminate. Whether they have infested your trash can, your home or you have somehow managed to have them as part of an infection on your body (myiasis), you need to know how to kill maggots in order to successfully get rid of these creatures.

Household Solutions

There are few things more upsetting than a maggot infection, but you likely have the tools you need to get rid of them already lying around your house:

Steps

Chemical Means

  1. Use a product that contains permethrin. Permethrin is a synthetic chemical that is used as an insecticide, insect repellent or an acaricide. Usually used to kill scabies and lice, it comes in liquid (shampoo) and cream form.[1] For the simplest solution, boil some water, add a dog shampoo with Permethrin in it, and dump over any maggots.
    • While permethrin is safe for use in human hair and scalp, take care not to get it in eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. If you do happen to accidentally get it in your eyes, flush them with water right away.
    • If you don't have dog shampoo with permethrin, use lice shampoo or lice bedding spray. These products often employ permethrin as the active ingredient.
    • Permethrin and synthetic pyrethroids can be fatal to cats and fish. Products suitable for dogs may be dangerous to cats and fish.
  2. Make use of bleach. Household bleach is a great maggot murderer. Dilute one part bleach with one part water and pour it over the unfortunate maggots like you're king or queen of the world. If dumping bleach into a trash can, close the lid and let the fumes of the bleach suffocate the maggots. Now, your trash can is effectively prepped for a cleaning with the bleach. A definite plus!
  3. Try spraying maggots with a bug killer like Raid. Although not quite as effective as permethrin, Raid will eventually kill maggots, although it may take some time (30+ minutes) for it to start taking effect. Bug sprays that act as fumigators, wasp and hornet killers, as well as ant and roach killers.
  4. Make use of other household chemical solutions. On the hierarchy of effectiveness, these work a bit less effective that either permethrin or Raid, but if you have no other option, they're worth trying out. (Usually, you'll have plenty of options — see section below.) The following household items may be useful in killing maggots:
    • Hairspray such as AquaNet
    • Pledge multi-surface cleaner
    • All-purpose cleaners like Fantastic  or Formula 409.
  5. If all else fails, try vehicle chemicals such as motor oil, brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner. This is especially useful if you have a lot of maggots in, say, a garbage can. Mix a cup of carburetor cleaner with a couple gallons of hot water. Dump the ad hoc chemical cleaner into your trash can (after having disposed of the trash, of course), close the lid to the trash can, and allow the toxic fumes and hot water to work its magic on the maggots for an hour or so. Dispose of the dead maggots.
    • Note that carburetor cleaner is extremely toxic. Take pains to not get it on your skin or inhale its fumes. Always wear proper clothing and gloves. Request for your carburetor cleaner solution to be picked up after use.
    • Do not mix carburetor cleaner with any other solvents. Chlorinated carburetor cleaner can interact with other solvents to form a toxic mix of gases that can be harmful if inhaled or come in contact with. Use at your deepest discretion.

Natural Means

  1. Boil them. This method is especially useful if you have your maggots quarantined somewhere like your garbage bin. Set a large pot of water to boil. Remove the garbage the maggots were feeding on in the meantime. When the water reaches a boil, carefully pour it into your garbage bin or otherwise over the maggots. If you can, close the garbage bin to keep in the heat.
  2. Sprinkle some diatomaceous earth over the maggots. Diatomaceous earth is a sedimentary rock with a wide range of cleaning and insecticide applications. (It's especially good for treating fleas!) Sprinkle some diatomaceous earth over the maggots and wait for them to meet their end. Diatomaceous earth sticks to the maggots exoskeleton and slowly dehydrates them. The maggots then ultimately die of water pressure deficiency. Problem solved and style points awarded!
  3. Sprinkle the maggots with lime or salt. Working much in the same way that diatomaceous earth kills maggots, lime or salt literally dries out the maggots and causes them to die of water pressure deficiency.
    • Of course, the "lime" we're talking about is a bit different from the fruit, lime. The lime you should be using in this instance is the calcium-rich lime (calcium-oxide or calcium-hydroxide).
  4. Flood the maggots with a mixture of water and vinegar. Maggots find a water-vinegar mixture uninhabitable, which means that cleaning with water and vinegar will also help prevent a re-infestation in the future.
  5. Use an old beer trick. Put a bit of beer in an open container, and set it close to the maggots. Supposedly, the maggots are attracted to it. They crawl inside and drown in the beer. This is an option you may use for a few stray maggots, probably not a long-term solution for large-scale problems.
  6. Freeze them. Again, not a solution for a horde of maggots, but workable for a few stray grubs. Place them in a resealable bag, and freeze them until they die. This and the boiling may sound gross, but if you are going to reintroduce them to your trashcan, you want them dead this time and not re-infest it.

Prevention

  1. Attack the source of the problem, not the symptom. Flies breed and ultimately lay their eggs, which become maggots. Flies breed mainly in decaying meat and fish. This means that if you want to prevent maggots from being able to hatch, you'll need to stop allowing excess meat and fish into your trash. Here are a couple solutions for attacking the source of the problem.
    • Wrap excess meat and fish before you toss it. Wrap bones, scales, fat, and even meat tightly with paper towels before introducing it into the trash. If flies can't get at it, they'll have a difficult time laying eggs.
    • Upcycle your meat and bones. Have you ever tried to make fish or meat stock out of a few bones? It's surprisingly easy and fun. All you do is dump the leftover bones into a pot of boiling water, add a few bay leaves and spices, and set to simmer for at least an hour.
    • Save some of the meat/bones in a separate refrigerator (or freezer) until garbage day, and then dump it en masse. Your meat won't spoil as easily if it's refrigerated or frozen.
  2. Introduce moth balls into your trash can strategically. Mothballs are chemically treated orbs that are filled with insecticides. If you place one or two mothballs at the bottom of your trash can and regularly close the lid to the trashcan, they can be effective at repelling intruders.
  3. Use some essential oils. Peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and bay leaves are all reputedly excellent at repelling flies and maggots.[2] Here's how you can use essential oils to keep flies and maggots away:
    • Coat your trash can with a bit of essential oil. Dilute a bit of essential oil in a spray bottle filled with water. Lightly spray the inside of your trash can with the diluted mix. Your trash is now coated with a fly repellent and smells good to boot!
    • Clean with essential oils. Add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil to your detergent when you choose to clean the trash.
  4. Clean your trash can regularly. If your trash can isn't well insulated and regularly has bits and scraps of food lodged in it for long periods of time, there's a good chance it's becoming a breeding ground for maggots. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Until the maggots attack and you're left wondering what went wrong. Clean your trashcan regularly or keep it better insulated with trash bags.
  5. Maintain a dry trash can as much as possible. Maggots really like moisture, so take it away from them. Make sure your trash bags aren't leaky, you don't miss the trash bag, and any moisture that does make it to the bottom of the bin gets wicked away as soon as possible.
    • Here's one hack that you can use to help keep the bottom of your trash can dry. You know that silica packets that you find at the bottom of new shoes or in other packaging? Keep a few of those in the bottom of your trash. Silica is a natural absorbent, so it wicks away moisture effectively. In fact, it's one of the primary ingredients in diatomaceous earth.

Tips

  • You can also use bleach to get rid of them.
  • It is strongly advised to prevent maggots by throwing out meat that is past its cook-by date, sealing your trash cans, routinely bleaching out your trash cans, keeping screens on your windows, rinsing out pop cans before you throw them away or put them in a recycle bin, ridding your yard of fallen fruit, and not storing any pet food outdoors.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a698037.html
  2. ↑ http://www.care2.com/greenliving/get-rid-of-maggots-and-flies-in-your-trash.html

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