Maggots are another gross nuisance to households. Although small, these scary critters instill fear into many people when they’re found in trash and on food items.

Rest assured, these insects are not completely harmful. But, it's a good idea to learn more about where they come from and what to do when you find them.

Jody Green is a member and contributor to the journals of the Entomological Society of America. She shares the dirt on where maggots come from and how to get rid of them.

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Where do maggots come from?

Maggots come from larger filth flies such as blowflies or house flies. The maggot is the second stage of the fly's life cycle after eggs.

“The maggots sometimes are not associated with the adult fly,” Green said. “They’re just usually the creepy worm-looking things that people find in the trash cans.”

Flies from the outside come into a home and are attracted to any accessible food source with an odor, Green said. Flies are capable of honing in on the stench and can very quickly reproduce by laying eggs, which hatch the maggots. 

How to kill maggots

In the unfortunate event that you do stumble upon a maggot infestation, Green suggests several options to get rid of the pests depending on the situation. 

Maggots inside a trash can outside and in your home

Immediately take the trash can out of the house and throw away the source. Clean out and rinse the bin and all accessories. Spray the inside and outside of the bin with a disinfectant or insecticide to kill any eggs, maggots or flies that are leftover. 

Maggots in raw meat

The meat is no longer edible so you must dispose of the contaminated meat in an outside receptacle. Clean and disinfect any surfaces that have come in contact with the meat. 

If you are trimming raw meat, instead of throwing away the scraps into a trash bin, place them in a bag. Tie the bag so no outside organisms can reach the meat inside and put it in the freezer until trash day. Throw away the scraps the day trash is collected so it is not sitting outside exposed to potential pests.

Fly infestation in kitchen or home

Oftentimes, you will not be able to see the maggots until they become flies. If you notice many flies in your kitchen, buy a fly-repellent insert for your in-home trash cans. 

“You can put (it) in the trash can and that releases a vapor to kill the flies in there,” Green said.  “As long as people and other (living) things aren't in the trash can, it's going to be relatively safe for people.”

The best way to prevent a maggot infestation is to maintain cleaning habits like:

  • Taking out the garbage when it's full
  • Cleaning out trash cans, large trash receptacles and garbage disposals
  • Disinfecting kitchen surfaces
  • Storing away raw meat properly
  • Picking up any feces from house pets
  • Keeping produce in air-tight containers

“Ultimately, you want to break that lifecycle and find out where they’re breeding if you end up seeing the maggots,” Green said. “A couple adult flies doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have maggots, but when you see maggots or you see lots of flies, you know they’re developing somewhere close by and you need to find that source, the breeding source, and get rid of it.”

Where do flies lay eggs?

Flies lay eggs anywhere there may be decaying organic matter like trash, garbage disposals and compost bins in warmer climates. In some cases, dead animals in or around homes attract flies which is a perfect breeding ground for flies to colonize, lay eggs and hatch maggots. 

“It's just that odor. If you think of like, what may be attractive to you like chocolate chip cookies or coffee, for me. Something like that, you know, the smell and the chemical compounds that come off of like trash or feces,” Green said.

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What do maggots look like?

Maggots are small worm-like organisms with a whitish-cream color and no legs or eyes. They are often found in large amounts because flight lay thousands of eggs at a time.

“When the little tiniest larvae hatch, they’re so small that they can get into the smallest little gaps and cracks and crevices,” Green said.

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What do fly eggs look like?

Fly eggs are extremely small and elongated, resembling a grain of rice. The rice-like eggs are no larger than two millimeters and can be found in large clumps of thousands to speed up development. 

“They’re like social aggregations so they actually create heat being together,” Green said. “If you took a thermometer, there’s heat that’s coming off them. So that heat actually speeds up their development.”

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