Maggots are the larvae of flies or mosquitoes. A lot of maggots occur in a rubbish bin, wheelie bin or container, especially in the warm summer months. These end up because flies lay eggs in the waste. Flies prefer warm and humid places with food residues or manure. Maggots can eat a lot and grow very quickly. It only takes two weeks from egg to fly. Maggots give off a bad smell. For that reason alone it is better to fight maggots from the trash can.
Maggots of flies
We often think that there are a lot of flies flying around, because we encounter them everywhere, especially in the summer. Just think that all those flies make up only 15 percent of their total population! The rest are all eggs, maggots or pupae. Maggots are the larvae of a fly. An adult fly can lay up to 1,000 eggs. These are placed in nutrient-rich and moist places. In doing so, they also look for heat. Often this is food, manure or a recently dead animal. But the fly also sometimes lays eggs in open wounds.
Depending on the heat, the eggs hatch after a few hours. Small white maggots crawl out of this and feast on the food around them. The maggot sheds twice. Then the maggot sheds into a doll. From seven days after hatching, the pupa can hatch as a fly. This process can also take longer. The higher the temperature, the faster it will go.
How do maggots get into a rubbish bin, wheelie bin or container?
A garbage can that does not close properly or is open is immediately accessible to flies. But even when the trash can is closed, flies can fly in and out when it opens for a moment. The fly smells with its antennae. It can detect smells over a distance of more than 600 meters. The fly can quickly determine the location and fly there.
It is therefore not difficult for a fly to get into a garbage can. Especially when the trash can is moist and warm, it becomes an attractive breeding ground for fly eggs. The condition is that there are food residues or manure in the rubbish bin. And these are in almost every garbage can or organic waste container. The eggs hatch faster than the garbage truck comes to collect the garbage: at high temperatures, maggots crawl out of the eggs after just a few hours.
Recognizing fly larvae
The maggot (larva) of a fly is sometimes easily confused with maggots of other insects. In general we can say that flies lay their eggs in waste. For example, beetles lay their eggs in water or on plants. So maggots in a garbage can come from the fly. It is often difficult to say which fly this is on the basis of the maggot. Fly maggots can grow very quickly, especially under ideal conditions.
They stink
We all know that maggots stink. Take a look at a maggot farm (read: smell). Maggots are grown there for sale. Fishermen in particular use maggots as bait. Maggots smell because they eat waste. They produce faeces by eating. Stool always smells harder than the food. In addition, maggots crawl through their own food. Often this food consists of rotting meat. Fishermen always let maggots crawl through cornmeal for a while. This will take the worst of the smell away from them.
Should you remove maggots from a trash can?
Maggots are useful in nature: they break down dead tissue. A kilo of maggots that devour themselves completely with a dead animal weighs more than 300 kilos after a week. This indicates how many maggots can actually eat and clean up. The maggots can also eat quite a bit in a garbage can. Almost all food they come across is eaten. Meat residues are especially attractive to the maggot. Made pupate fairly quickly under the right conditions, and then hatch as a fly. These flies leave the bin through a crack or when the bin is opened.
Maggots give off a strong ammonia-like air that turns your stomach over. For the disgusting smell alone, it is better to avoid maggots in a trash can. The spread of flies around the house must also be prevented as much as possible. A true plague of flies can develop.
Mothballs largely prevent flies from landing on the trash can. They can be secured in tights on the inside of the box, for example on the lid. By tying the tights to the handle, the mothballs can also remain in place while the container is emptied. Preferably wrap food scraps in newspaper first and do not put the trash can or container in direct sunlight. Those who go on holiday are better off providing an empty garbage can and / or container. After emptying, rinse the container with water and some green soap.