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How To Kill Maggots & Prevent Infestation with 7 Easy Tips
So you’re looking to learn how to kill maggots. They are a common problem in summer; we find them crawling in garbage or green waste containers.
At home, maggots are often found in garbage bags and containers, even when they are sealed. Eliminating maggots cannot be guaranteed, but you can reduce the likelihood of getting them. You will learn how and why they occur, as well as what we can do to reduce the possibility of them happening.
How to Prevent Maggots in Trash Cans with BagEZ
The BagEZ DIY system offers the perfect solution to your question of how to prevent maggots in trash cans, green bins, or outdoor food carts from becoming dirty and smelly, while keeping critters at bay for a few dollars a month. It’s a simple fix with everyday items available in-store or online. BagEZ offers a mix of tools to make the job easier, providing common sense and natural solutions that we know work.
Where do Maggots come from?
It’s easier to prevent than to figure out how to kill and clean up maggots. It’s best to stop the source.
Flies are attracted to protein sources, like meat and bones. Flies are attracted to odors given off by rotting food.
When flies lay eggs on food waste in about 7-20 hours, you get fly larvae called maggots.
They have a 5- to 7-day life cycle, depending on temperature and moisture levels.
Grubs are common in places with warmer climates. Frequent cleaning is necessary to reduce the smell.
How to get rid of maggots?
Before looking into heavy-duty solutions to learn how to kill maggots, look at how many there are. When there are a few maggots in your trash can, use birds to get rid of them by keeping the lid open & allowing birds to feast on them.
How to kill maggots in the trash can?
If you have maggots in the bin, control them using the measures mentioned below. Always wear gloves when handling your trash can. Let’s talk about how to kill maggots immediately. Boiling water kills maggots on contact and is an excellent option if your trash can is empty.
Do not pour hot water if there are bags still in the bin. The heat will melt the bags. Be careful to avoid hot water splashes.
Never forget safety when learning how to kill marrots. Try this instead if you have bags in a bin with maggots crawling.
How to kill maggots with Diatomaceous Earth?
If you have maggots in the trash can with trash bags inside? Then, sprinkle or splatter Diatomaceous Earth everywhere the maggots are crawling.
Maggots die when they come into contact with this material. Then comes the painful process of cleaning them out.
It’s best to wait for the garbage truck to empty it before cleaning the can. Check garden centers and nurseries for the availability of Diatomaceous Earth.
It can be brushed away and is one of the easiest methods to use when seeking a solution to how to kill maggots.
How to kill maggots with bleach?
Bleach kills maggots. Bleach and water in equal amounts poured into infested bins suffocate the maggots.
Pour liberally into the bin and close the lid for around 30 minutes to be effective. Then, start the disgusting process of cleaning everything out.
Choose a secluded location, as things are going to get messy. Bleach can kill your lawn, so avoid emptying it over grass when learning how to kill maggots.
How to Kill Maggots Naturally?
There are affordable, natural, and homemade alternatives to chemical solutions that can help make it easy if you are looking into how to kill maggots naturally.
Covering them with lime, salt, or vinegar is another natural way to remove maggots from the bin.
How to prevent maggots in trash cans: Method A
What can you put in my trash to prevent maggots and stop flies from laying eggs in the trash can or green bin?
Use items to repel the flies. Natural repellents include cloves, vinegar, and/or salt around the rim of the garbage bin.
Food waste, especially meat, emits strong odors that attract flies.
Stopping odors and reducing their access to the cart is a start
How to Prevent maggots in garbage can: Method B
Freeze food waste
It’s always better to prevent an infestation than to figure out how to kill maggots after the fact—freezing meat scraps until garbage collection is great, if possible. But if you’re a meat-eating family, many chicken and fish scraps take up room in the freezer.
Freeze meats, fruits & vegetable waste and place them in the curbside bin on collection day.
The longer organic waste sits in the bin, the more time flies have to breed. Putting the cart out every week, even when barely full, is smart.
Make your bin fly-proof
Seal the edge of your can where the lid rests to block gaps and prevent flies from entering. I have not seen anyone who does this, but I have seen a video on it.
Rubber seals and weather stripping are available at hardware stores.
Cover food scraps with leaves, kitty litter, or baking soda
Alternating layers of yard debris, natural repellants, and maggot killers on top of food waste keep odors down. Covering food scraps prevents direct access to flies & controls odors. It helps.
How to get rid of maggots in a trash can
Rinsing your bin regularly with detergents and water is excellent. Cleaning with a borax or vinegar solution & water keeps the smell down.
Soap and detergents make cleaning carts easier. Use a broom with stiff bristles for hard-to-reach places in the bottom of your trash bin.
Removing liquids & allowing the cart to dry before use deters flies. Spray the top and inside of the bin with vinegar and use bin deodorizers to reduce daily smells.
Always store the trash can in a well-ventilated place.
Do not rinse dirty carts over lawns, gutters, or storm drains, as water runoffs flow into waterways.
Commercially available fly & bug repellants
Use pennyroyal, camphor, eucalyptus, mint, or bay to repel flies. Hanging herbs in clusters or applying dabs of herbal oil along the bin also helps.
Line the cart’s rim with salt or vinegar to prevent flies. Rock salt or lime inside the cart is also a useful preventative measure.
Add sweet basil leaves to the trash bag.
Flies hate basil’s licorice-like smell. Basil’s smell confuses various species of flies and makes trash smell nicer.
Basil doesn’t have allergens, unlike some perfumed or scented bags.
Dried or fresh basil, even basil oil, oregano, and lavender can have similar effects.
Use yard clippings to avoid grubs.
Apply a thin layer of grass, leaves, or conifer needles over food to reduce the smells produced by meats.
Avoid putting excess clippings in the bin unless the garbage pickup is scheduled for the next day.
Doing this prevents rotting vegetation from attracting stable flies.
How to Get Rid of Maggots in a Bin: Spray with wintergreen alcohol.
Wintergreen alcohol burns maggots & gives off a minty scent that pests and flies dislike.
Spraying down the bin after every use will avoid getting flies.
Regularly rinsing the trash can with Wintergreen alcohol helps keep maggots and other pests out.
How to kill maggots with Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is a type of sedimentary rock composed of the fossilized remains of thousands of diatoms, a kind of microorganism. It has sharp edges that cut the skin of any soft-bodied insect and kill it.
Avoid stable fly infestations by disposing of waste correctly
Wet & organic waste must always be sealed. Flies lay eggs where they smell methane gas.
Dirty diapers, feminine products, pets & leftover food are placed in closed bags.
Avoid adding rotting plant matter to the household trash. It will triple your trouble with stable flies, blowflies, and houseflies.
Dead plants are put in separate lawn bags and tossed into the trash can.
Rinse the can regularly to prevent the growth of maggots.
A smelly trash can is a magnet for maggots and a disgusting thing that stinks up your house.
A good rinse every 2 or 3 months is recommended. In warm seasons, keep the maggots away and the trash can smell decent.
The easiest way to prevent maggots is to keep your bins clean and dry. BagEZ trash bag holders offer the best way to avoid unsightly trash cans that attract flies, which can harbor pests. Learn more here.
