The Kitchen Ingredient You Can Use To Deal With Maggots Around The House

Maggots are undoubtedly one of the most unpleasant pests you'll ever encounter in your home. These tiny, wriggling larvae of flies can infest your trash bins, exposed food, and compost piles. To deal with maggots effectively, it's crucial to understand their habits. They thrive in moist, decaying organic matter like food scraps, dead animals, or rotting vegetation where adult flies lay their eggs. Within days, maggots emerge to feed on the decaying material. The problem can escalate quickly because a female housefly can lay up to 900 eggs in a month after mating only once! Multiply that with your actual housefly numbers and you may find it a little overwhelming to deal with your maggot problem. Quick action is essential, so it's now time to use a simple yet effective solution involving boiling water and salt. 

The boiling water serves a dual purpose. First, it helps kill maggots by scalding and physically damaging them, especially the more mature darker-colored ones that have harder bodies. Second, it disrupts their habitat by increasing the temperature and drying out the organic matter, making it inhospitable for any surviving maggots. Meanwhile, salt acts as a desiccant that draws moisture out of the maggots. When combined with boiling water, salt helps dehydrate and kill these pests more effectively than plain water alone. 

To prepare your own water and salt solution, you'll need a large pot, a stove or heat source, and table salt. Fill the pot with an ample amount of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Ensure you have enough to cover the maggot-infested area. Slowly pour a generous amount of table salt into the boiling water. Stir the mixture until the salt is completely dissolved. Allow the solution to cool for a minute or two, but it needs to be very hot for maximum effectiveness.

Make sure you're wearing protective gear like heat-resistant gloves and goggles when dealing with pests using extremely hot water. Go to the area where maggots are present, such as your trash bin or compost pile. Carefully pour the hot water and salt mixture over the affected area, ensuring it covers all the maggots and their breeding site. Take care not to splash the solution on yourself. Leave it for a few minutes until you notice the maggots starting to curl up and die.

Once the maggots are no longer moving, use a small shovel to collect the remains and bag them along with the decaying material. Seal the bag and dispose of it properly. Always keep food covered, practice proper kitchen hygiene, and ensure your trash bins and compost piles are maintained regularly to prevent future maggot infestations.