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How Do You Kill Maggots In The Garbage Can?

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Keeping your house clean and your garbage can hygienic can be a task in itself. But if maggots have emerged, how do you kill maggots in the garbage can?

Well, the first thing to remember is that if you do have maggots in your garbage can, you may not necessarily be doing something wrong, but it is essential that you learn how to kill these worms and prevent them from infesting your trash cans.

The reason? Maggots are the start of a much larger fly infestation in your house. Enough said. Let’s get to the real issue that I’ll be dealing with in this article!

How To kill maggots in Trash can?

Garbage can infested with maggots

Killing maggots in the garbage can is not a job for those of faint heart. It is likely to become very disgusting quickly.

But, it is necessary to kill these bugs making their way through your junk from the previous night’s party. Below, I have comprehensively laid out how you should go about killing maggots in your garbage can.

Take out the garbage from your garbage can.

The first step is to take out the garbage that is swarming with maggots in your garbage can. When I say ‘take it out,’ I do not mean that you should transfer the same garbage to another can.

Rather, you’d be much better off if you disposed of it directly by handing it over to your garbage collecting service.

Simply put, transferring the garbage to another container simply means that you will be spreading it to that container. Therefore, simply make sure that you get rid of every piece of garbage from your can, including the scraps at the bottom of the garbage can.

Kill any maggots and eggs left in the garbage can.

There are bound to be more maggots and eggs in your garbage can even after you’ve disposed of the garbage responsibly. You need to boil water and then pour it into the garbage can to kill them.

You should rinse and repeat this step a couple of times before moving on to the next step. You can even prepare a solution using bleach in boiling water. This will ensure that all maggots die in your garbage can.

Manually clean the garbage can with a rubbing alcohol solution.

After you’ve washed the garbage can with boiling water, you should proceed to the next step of actually getting dirty. By that, I mean you will have to manually use a scrub and thoroughly clean the inside and outside of the garbage can.

Using a solution made of rubbing alcohol and water is likely to give you the best result in killing any other remaining maggots and eggs. However, you can use homemade cleaning solutions using vinegar or other ingredients from your kitchen.

Dry the garbage can naturally.

After rinsing the garbage can, you should leave it out in the sun and let it dry entirely. You might have to leave the garbage can in the sun for an hour or two, so make sure that you have an alternate container to store all the new garbage.

You must never put garbage into an already wet garbage can. This will simply create a humid environment around it and lead to a stink and a breeding ground for lingering flies.

Once the garbage can has dried entirely, you can use it as your primary garbage can once again!

What are the different types of bait you can use to kill maggots in the garbage can and which one is best for you

Maggots can be a real nuisance in the garbage can, especially if you have a lot of food waste to deal with. Fortunately, there are a variety of baits you can use to kill maggots and eliminate their presence from your garbage can.

Fly Wick

One of the most common types of bait is the Fly Wick. Fly wicks are made from a sticky liquid that attracts fly larvae and other insects to the area where the bait is placed. Once the larvae are attracted to the bait, they can be killed by boiling the liquid or spraying it onto the maggots.

Trash Can Traps

Another type of bait is the Trash Can Traps. Trash can traps are similar to fly wicks in that they use a sticky liquid to attract maggots.

However, the trap is designed to sit in the garbage can, trapping the maggots as they crawl towards the bait. Once the trap is full, the maggots can be removed by hand or by using a vacuum cleaner.

Both fly wicks and trash can traps are effective at eliminating maggots from the garbage can, but they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

ProsCons
Fly WicksFly wicks are easy to use and can be placed anywhere in the garbage can, making them ideal for areas where space is limited.fly wicks can be less effective in areas with a lot of dust or other particulate matter.
Trash Can TrapsThe trap must be placed in the garbage can carefully so that the maggots are caught inside the trap and can’t escape.the trap can be difficult to clean, making it difficult to use.

What Kills Maggots Instantly?

Boiling Water

The protein coagulation that occurs when water is heated rapidly kills maggots.

Bleach and water mixture

You can swiftly kill maggots by pouring bleach mixed 50/50 with water on them. If there are maggots in your garbage can, you should close it after adding bleach to kill any maggots that are not submerged in the solution with poisonous bleach fumes.

Lime Juice And Salt

Spraying the maggots with warm water combined with strong lime juice and salt for an equally ecological remedy. With this natural, do-it-yourself solution, you can swiftly rid your house of maggots.

Why Do Maggots Infest Trash Cans?

There are two primary reasons why maggots infest trash cans. The first reason is that adult flies tend to hang around garbage cans or any place where they can feed on biodegradable or organic waste.

Therefore, it only makes sense that they reproduce in such spaces and lay eggs in these spots.

Maggots

Once the eggs are laid by adult flies, it only takes about a day or two for maggots to emerge from them. The second reason is that maggots also feast on the same things that adult flies do. Therefore, maggots grow in trash cans for 36 days before developing into pupae.

Logically speaking, maggots are crucial to the health of the natural environment since they facilitate the natural biodegradation process by gradually breaking down natural organic matter.

Having said that, their presence also implies that your garbage can and, consequently, your house is at a high risk of being infested by disease-spreading flies.

does alcohol kill maggots?

The answer is yes, alcohol will kill maggots.

Alcohol is a desiccant, which means it dries out living things by sucking the moisture out of them. This is why drinking alcohol can make you feel dehydrated. When you pour alcohol on maggots, it quickly dries them out and kills them.

If you have maggots in the trash can, the best way to get rid of them is to pour rubbing alcohol on them. You can also use vodka or any other type of hard liquor. Just make sure to use enough so that the maggots are completely covered in alcohol.

How to prevent maggots from infesting your garbage can?

how do you kill maggots in the garbage can

Remember that common household fly species hate dry and sanitary environments. Therefore, your sole goal must be to keep your garbage can healthy and the area around it sanitary.

What that means is that you should dispose of garbage responsibly and ensure that your garbage collector collects it regularly.

Further, you should also ensure that you don’t leave leftover food to rot for too long in your house and in your garbage can.

Keeping the lid of your garbage can tightly shut at all times can also be extremely helpful in keeping flies from laying their eggs inside it. As a result, maggots won’t appear in your garbage can!

Conclusion

In conclusion, killing maggots in garbage can involves four essential steps. The first is that you should dispose of garbage that is already infested with maggots.

Then you should pour boiling water into your garbage can before manually cleaning it with a rubbing alcohol solution. Ultimately, you should leave the garbage can in the sun so that it dries entirely before resuming to use it.

The point to remember is that maggots will lead to a fly infestation around your garbage can and in your house. Therefore, spotting maggots is not something that you want to ignore. Rather you should take immediate action to kill them!

About the author

A biotechnologist by profession and a passionate pest researcher. I have been one of those people who used to run away from cockroaches and rats due to their pesky features, but then we all get that turn in life when we have to face something.