No rest for the weary ...
By reinydawn
@reinydawn (11642)
United States
June 5, 2010 10:38am CST
Three weeks ago I sprained my ankle pretty bad. I've been wearing one of those black boots to stabilize my foot so I can at least get around. It's still pretty swollen so on the weekends I've been sitting on the couch with my leg elevated almost the entire time. Well, that was my plan this weekend, but this morning it all changed.
We have had a couple maggots on our kitchen floor the last few days, and this morning my husband found TONS more. Every time we picked up a shoe, moved a box or something else we had sitting on the kitchen floor, there were just TONS of maggots down there. Well, my husband had to go to his lacrosse game, so I moved EVERYTHING outside onto the deck, then swept up the entire kitchen floor - getting a HUGE pile of maggots. I can't find the source and I'm not bringing stuff back into the house until the floor has been scrubbed. With this boot on my foot I can't do it, so I have to wait for my husband to get back. I'm pretty sure the stuff outside is now maggot-free, but there's no sense in expending the effort to bring it in, just to take it back out when my husband scrubs the floor.
So much for resting the ankle today - I just hope the swelling doesn't get too bad from all this work.
So, how do you get rid of maggots?
2 people like this
2 responses
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
5 Jun 10
The only way I know of is to get rid of the source. You're going to have to find what is causing flies to lay their eggs under things on your floor. They normally lay eggs on/in some kind of rotting food so the hatching eggs (maggots) will have something to eat right away.
I've actually never heard of maggots being underneath things like you've mentioned. Maybe these aren't maggots but some other kind of larva. Whatever they are, though, it's obvious that some kind of bug is laying eggs there and you're simply going to have to find what is attracting them before you'll get rid of them completely.
Please take it easy on that ankle! Even if you have to do a lot on your feet, you should take frequent breaks and put your foot above heart-level, like every half-hour put your foot up for 5 or 10 minutes.
Good luck with your bug problem!
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
5 Jun 10
That would be what I would say as well. I just cannot think of what other bug has maggot like larvae. Ice on the ankle would do well, too.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
5 Jun 10
One more thing, you don't have to have something sitting around for very long to find maggots. Fly eggs hatch within hours of being laid. It doesn't take long at all.
Check everything in your kitchen that could be what flies look for to lay their eggs. Even a brand new bag of potatoes could contain one that is beginning to rot. That's all a fly needs.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11642)
• United States
5 Jun 10
WHOA!!! Thanks for saying Potatoes - I'm going to check the cupboard where I keep them, they are probably rotten!
OK, just checked the cupboard. I did have a few bad potatoes in there, threw out the whole bag, but as far as bugs or more maggots, the entire cupboard was clear...
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
5 Jun 10
Are you seeing flies anywhere in the house, of any kind? As much as I hate pesticides, I would be using some on that floor. If you do however, do not walk in it barefoot as you can absorb it through your skin (I did once). Do you have potatoes, or onions in there somewhere rotting and oozing liquid to attract the flies? I came back from working out of town and have potatoes that need discarded.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11642)
• United States
5 Jun 10
I have seen like maybe 2 flies today. Last weekend, before we turned on the A/C we had the doors open - one has no screen - so the bug coulda come in then. But there's no place (that I can find) that has breeding conditions. Usually larvae are on rotten stuff and there's nothing like that around. My kitchen is huge and these things were all over the floor - but nowhere near where any food source is. So strange...
1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
5 Jun 10
Hi Gerty. I thought of potatoes as soon as I posted my comment. I've had that happen to me, too. Even if potatoes aren't sitting too long, if there's even one bad potato in a bag of them, that could cause maggots to appear really fast.
1 person likes this
