Maggots in House & Kitchen – Causes & Getting Rid of Them.
What have I done to get maggots in my house? Is there any way to get rid of them easily and prevent them from returning?
In this guide, you will learn:
What causes maggots in your home,
How to identify different maggots in your house,
How to get rid of the nasty maggots,
How to prevent them from coming back.
A maggot infestation in your house can be incredibly dangerous and they should be dealt with right away. Either by removing them yourself or contacting a pest control company.
Not to mention that they’re incredibly disgusting to look at, and the last place you would ever want to see them is in your own home.
Found Maggots In My House – What Are They?
At first glance, you may think a maggot is a fully grown insect, when actually, they are the larvae of a fly.
The most common Maggots in your home are the larvae of the common house fly.
If you’ve noticed these small, wiggly maggots in your kitchen or anywhere else in your home, then they are most likely attracted to spoiled or rotting food that you haven’t thrown away properly.
How Serious Is This?
A maggot infestation in your home is something you need to try and catch early on and deal with as quickly as you can.
Since flies are able to lay up to 2,000 eggs, there is a possibility that you could have quite the maggot infestation on your hands.
Thankfully, maggots don’t necessarily do any lasting harm to humans.
Touching them won’t harm you, but it is still best to use sanitary gloves when dealing with them.
Accidentally ingesting some of them won’t harm you either, but it could give you a bad case of food poisoning.
Some maggots however have been known to carry diseases, such as E coli and salmonella.
Let’s talk about one of the absolute worst places that you can find maggots, and that would be inside your own skin.
I know, typing this just made my skin crawl, but thankfully not literally! This is known as a parasitic infection called myiasis.
Myiasis can be caused by flies (most being screwflies, botflies, and blowflies) laying their eggs in an open wound on your skin.
This most commonly happens when wounds haven’t been treated or have been neglected, and this usually tends to happen in poor socioeconomic countries however this might also happen in neglected senior citizen homes.
What Causes Maggots In House
If you are wondering what is the meaning of maggots in your house…
Maggots are fly larvae, and we all know that flies are attracted to trash, feces, decaying matter, and anything else that has a bad smell to it.
Female flies will find one of these disgusting things and lay her eggs in them, and eventually, those eggs will hatch into maggots.
So these pests don’t come out of nowhere, they always appear for a reason in your home! In this case, the reason might be that you simply didn’t dispose of your trash properly.
Another common cause for finding maggots in your home is if you have expired foods in your pantry that you haven’t thrown away, or if you have an excess amount of animal feces around your home.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to continuously keep your home clean to prevent maggot infestation!
Leaving your windows or door open for a long period of time can also bring in flies, and it usually isn’t hard for them to find something stinky to lay their eggs in if you don’t do a good job at keeping your house clean.
Can Maggots Crawl Into my House from Outside?
No, maggots can’t simply crawl into your house.
The only way they get into your home is if an adult, female fly lays eggs on something it was attracted to (probably in your kitchen).
There is a myth going on that some maggots can eat through concrete.
However maggots aren’t strong enough to eat through concrete, and they also don’t have a desire to eat concrete.
The only way you could fine them in your garage walls or floors is if there are cracks that they can fit through if they happen to find food there.
Identifying The Maggots In Your House
You can identify these pests in your home by their tube-like bodies that are most commonly pale or white in color.
They don’t have any legs and one end of the maggot ends bluntly, where the mouth parts are, and the other side ends in a sharp point.
Here are the most common maggots you can find in your home:
White Maggots In House
1.Apple Maggots
Apple maggots are small white worm like maggots usually found in kitchen, as you can tell by their name, are among the species of fruit flies and can actually be one of the most serious infestations you can get.
The adult, female flies, which are larger in size compared to the males with clear wings, will lay around 300 eggs in the span of 30 days.
They will simply puncture the skin of any unfortunate apple and will proceed to lay her eggs beneath the skin.
After around 10 days, the maggots will hatch under the apple skin and they will all end up feasting on the fruit.
These tiny, cream-colored pest will eat and tunnel their way through the apple for around 30 days until they’re fully grown and there is simply no more of the apple to eat.
Like the others, apple maggots have no legs, so when they’re done with the apple, they will fall to the ground.
The apple maggots will then burrow into the ground, where they will develop into their pupal stage and once summer arrives, they will emerge from the ground as fully grown fruit flies!
Now that you know where they come from, you may be able to guess why you might have them in your home or kitchen.
If you happen to have any fruit left out for too long of a time, fruit flies could become attracted to it and they will proceed to lay their eggs in the skin.
You might notice these pests in your fruit either by actually seeing them crawl around on it, or if you’ve already taken a bite! Yuck!
2.Root Maggots
As you can tell by their name, these pests enjoy eating on root crops, such as beets, carrots, and onions. They are also often referred to as Cabbage maggots.
While these crops are usually grown outside in crop fields, it is possible to get root maggots in your home.
Root maggots are simply the larvae of the common housefly and they are extremely common, you can attract them to your home just like any other pest.
Leaving out old and rotting foods is a definite way to attract these pests, so it’s important to throw finished foods away as soon as possible.
Red Maggots In House
Midge Fly Larvae (Maggots)
The pests don’t exactly look like your average white or brown maggot. These maggots have a longer, more slender body and they are bright red in color.
They grow up into, of course, midge flies, which closely resemble the mosquito.
Although they aren’t known for being harmful to humans, it’s still important to be careful around them as they tend to bite and some of them might be able to transmit diseases.
These pests are particularly drawn to light and they will find themselves flying towards your windows and finding a way into your home. This is the most common way to start a Midge Fly Maggot infestation in your home.
Brown Maggots In House
These are either the same Common Housefly Maggots often in a later stage or if it’s a large maggot, it can be a Rattailed Maggot.
Rattailed maggots are also known as drone flies and they actually closely resemble the common honey bee.
You can find these flies all over the world and they are mostly attracted to decaying matter, like many other flies.
The maggots can mostly be found feasting on decaying matter that can be found in dung pits or stagnant water.
You can easily tell that these pests are maggots by their grub-like appearance and small ”tail” that they use to breathe through when they are in water.
Thankfully all you have to do is make sure your area is regularly cleaned and sanitized to keep this infestation from happening again.
Always remember to clean up any dirty dishes as soon as you’re able, throw away any old or rotten food properly, and take out the trash and vacuum regularly.
How To Get Rid Of Maggots and Finding the Source
If you are wondering how to kill and get rid of the maggots in your house…
1.Boiling Water
One of the most common ways to handle a maggot infestation in your home, especially if you find them in your trash or on your food, then you can simply pour boiling water on them along with the other eggs.
This is a great way to instantly kill maggots in your house without using many sprays or other chemicals.
Not to mention that it’s a completely free and efficient way to get rid of the infestation.
Of course, before you even begin to boil your water, you need to remove all of the trash from your trash can and throw it into your bin outside.
Once you have the can cleared out and the maggots are taken care of by the boiling water, immediately clean it with soapy water and disinfect.
If you want, you can also add one part vinegar to your boiling water. The odor vinegar will prevent future infestations.
2.Insecticide Sprays
If you find that you prefer to just buy a can of spray, then be sure to look for an insecticide such as Permethrin.
It is one of the most common and effective insecticides you can buy, and you can find it just about anywhere for a reasonable price.
3.Lemon Juice
If you’re wanting to stay away from the sprays and use a more natural means of getting rid of the maggots in your home, then you’re in luck!
Maggots don’t have a hard shell like most insects do, so killing them naturally tends to be the easier option.
Simply take your lemons and/or limes and juice them. If you don’t have a juicer or neither of these fruits, you can buy the juices at your local grocery store.
Once you have your juices, simply spray a good amount all over the maggots, making sure to completely soak them in the lemon or lime juice.
You can also spray this all around your trash can to prevent future infestations and to also kill any eggs that might be remaining.
Although, sometimes a maggot infestation might be out of your control, and it might actually be better for you to call your local pest control.
It’s time to call pest control company once you’ve noticed that the infestation has taken over several rooms of your house.
If you’re finding dead maggots in your home after all of this, then you’ve done it right!
Maggots In Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most common places you can find a maggot infestation in your house.
This is the room where a maggots’ main attraction is, and that would be old and spoiled food.
They also seem to enjoy pet food when it isn’t properly stored in a sealed container.
You can most like find them in your trash can if you haven’t taken it out in a while, or you could find them crawling along your walls, countertops, pantries, and floors.
There are a number of ways to get rid of a maggot infestation in your kitchen.
1.Remove Stale Food
First, you need to throw away any food sources in your kitchen that the pests might be attracted to.
This includes anything in your trash can, old and rotting food on your counters, and expired food in your pantries.
2.Boiling Water & Vinegar
You can pour boiling water directly onto the maggots in your kitchen and it will kill them instantly along with all of the eggs.
You should repeat this process as many times as you need to depending on how bad your infestation is.
If you want, you can also mix in some vinegar to your boiling water. This scent of the vinegar with repel flies and prevent future infestations.
A more natural method to ridding of maggots would be to spray lemon or lime juice all over them.
3.Bleach
Bleach can also easily kill maggots in your kitchen, but always remember to be cautious and wear gloves when using it!
Simply mix in some water with your bleach and completely coat all of the maggots and the eggs.
If they’re in the trash can, you can immediately close the lid and let the fumes do the rest.
If you notice that maggots keep returning to your trash can, make sure that you have properly cleaned it, and you didn’t just take out the trash bag.
It’s very important to completely clean out your trash can regularly.
This included removing all trash, washing it with soapy water and giving it a good scrub, and sanitizing it once it’s completely dried.
You can also coat the interior of your trash can with baking soda.
Not only does baking soda eliminate any bad odors, but it also prevents maggots from wanting to return.
Maggots On Kitchen Floor
You will find these little, wiggly maggots all over your kitchen floor in your house if you’ve failed to clean properly.
Make you you pick up any trash, rotten food, animal feces, and anything else you find on the floor that the maggots might be attracted to.
Once you have cleaned up all trash and have disposed of the maggots, sweep your floors thoroughly and then mix together a solution of warm water and white vinegar.
Use this to mop up your floors and this will help prevent any future infestations.
Maggots In Bathroom
If you happen to find maggots in your bathroom in places like sink and bathtub, then that means they have found a food source somewhere within the drains.
Since animals usually die around water, drain lines tend to trap these small animals, where they soon become maggot infested.
You can also find maggots your bathroom if you haven’t cleaned it properly.
It’s important to clean and disinfect your bathroom at least once a week to prevent any other infestations from happening.
To get rid of the maggots in bathroom, scrub out the drain as well as you can first before pouring boiling water down it.
After around thirty minutes, pour an enzyme-based cleaner down the drain.
This should effectively kill off any maggots or eggs in your drain.
Do this twice a day for around a week and your bathroom should be free of these pests.
Maggots In Carpet
If you happen to find maggots in your carpet, that usually means that there was a spill that you missed or your pet had an accident in a place you haven’t looked in yet.
Your toddler could have even misplaced a snack under the couch, so be sure to look under any furniture as well.
Since you found these maggots in your carpeting, it would be best for you to use a spray to get rid of them.
You can use a common insecticide that you can find at most stores, or you can make your own spray at home consisting of either warm water and vinegar, or lemon/lime juice.
Boric acid is another natural and very effective way to get rid of the maggots.
Once all of the pests are dead, give your carpet a good vacuum and immediately discard of the vacuum bag.
Repeat this as many times as you need to in order to get all of the dead maggots as well as the eggs.
Preventing Further Maggot Infestation In Your House
Always make sure your house, and especially your kitchen, is clean of any trash and rotting food.
Wash up any dirty dishes as soon as you’re able to and take your trash out at least once a week.
Sweeping and mopping your floors at least once a week can also prevent infestations.
If you have pets, be sure to pick up any feces they leave behind in your yard and if they end up having an accident in the house, clean it up immediately and properly clean and sanitize the area.
What have I done to get maggots in my house? Is there any way to get rid of them easily and prevent them from returning?
