What Causes Maggots?

For most people, the sudden appearance of maggots is a wonder — a mystery they always forget to uncover. But in reality, there is no mystery behind the cause of maggots.

So, what causes maggots? Maggots are caused by fly eggs. They are born from flies. Whatever attracts a fly may cause maggots. Here’s a list of things that attracts flies which ends up causing maggots.

10 Things that Causes Maggots
1. Garbage
2. Feces
3. Plants
4. Carcasses
5. Liquid Substances
6. Unattended food
7. Warm Temperatures
8. Light Sources
9. Other Flies or Insects
10. Unkempt Rooms

These ten things attracts flies and most of it revolves around their survival instincts and natural reactions.

Flies look for places to lay their eggs on, those eggs will turn into maggots after 24 hours.

They will choose a place where maggots can find food the moment they hatch.

As disgusting as it sounds, maggots and flies eat whatever they can.

From leftover food, spoiled food, garbage, dead bodies of other animals to animal waste, maggots and flies will not refuse it.

They are opportunistic and only prioritizes their survivability, which is why they are not picky when it comes to food.

It is advisable to keep your area clean and free of any source of food for maggots and flies to prevent causing them.

Find out more about the things that causes maggots, why it causes maggots and how you can get rid of them.

10 Things that Causes Maggots

Knowing the cause helps you prevent the problem. Again, what attracts flies, could lead to maggots.

A fly’s source of food is also a perfect spot for laying eggs that hatches into maggots.

So, take time to learn the things that attracts a fly and prevent them, so you won’t worry about causing maggots in the future.

1. Garbage

Flies usually find food inside garbage bins. They consume food such as fermented fruits, spoiled meat, overripe fruits and vegetables. This is why we must keep the garbage lid closed and shut off properly in order to avoid making flies swarm over the bin.

2. Feces

Flies, almost all kinds of them, consume feces from nearly any kind of animal. This is also the reason why they carry so many bacteria and develop various transmittable diseases.

3. Plants

Certain plants such as mint, sunflowers and daises attract flies for consumption purposes. Flies may also drink from plants and lay their eggs on plants. Sometimes, they just simply land on plants to rest for a while.

4. Carcasses

Consuming carcasses is another way for these flies to fill their stomachs and they also lay their eggs on carcasses so that once the egg hatches, the larvae will have something to feed on the moment they are born.

5. Liquid substances

Spilled soda and juices from fruits can be very inviting for these flies. Not only are they able to hydrate themselves through these consumable liquids, they are also satisfied by the sweet flavor it contains.

6. Unattended food

It is true that they still come near unattended food but without human intervention, they can feast on the food without worry of getting caught by human traps and other animals too. They are opportunistic and therefore, they will take what they can.

7. Warm temperatures

Like other animals and insects, flies are also quite weak against the cold. They thrive better under warm temperatures and thus will seek places that are warm to keep their bodies functioning under normal circumstances.

In the winter, they suspend the activities in their bodies in a way that allows them to survive but some of them usually lay their eggs on winter so the larvae can hatch by spring.

8. Light sources

Flies have a natural attraction towards light because of positive phototaxis, the locomotive movement that occurs when a living being moves closer or further away from a light source. This is because most whole organisms benefit from receiving light through photosynthesis.

9. Other flies or insects

The presence of your own kind is a good sign to take that you are welcome at that place. When one fly sees another or even a similar insect, it will make it seem as if they are safe around that area.

Some will also intentionally seek companionship from other flies in order to breed.

10. Unkempt rooms

An unkempt room is more likely to have unattended food, unnoticed carcasses or feces of small animals that could have been lurking around the room unknowingly and can be a safe resting place for the flies including their eggs if they are about to lay their eggs.

How to get rid of maggots

Maggots are easier to get rid of because they do not have wings or legs for mobility and escaping.

They usually only wriggle around slowly, giving you just enough time to get rid of them before they find the right places to hide.

It is important that you get rid of maggots immediately before they can hide and turn into flies.

When they become adult flies, there is a chance that you might find more maggots in your area.

5 Ways How to Get Rid of Maggots

Prevention is better than cure, however, there are times when we forget to do our cleanup chores and eventually cause maggots to appear.

Luckily, there are simple ways to get rid of them without having to worry about having to step on them or squish them dead.

1. Spray maggot repellents

The most effective way to get rid of maggots including flies and the eggs in the area where they hatched is spraying an insect repellent. However, if you must clean up their remains from the moment they die.

There are a lot of fly or maggot insecticides that can be purchased from any local store so if you see one, you should immediately buy yourself an insect repellent to get rid of them. It works quickly and all it takes is a few spray and you’re done!

You just have to make sure that you will also clean the area afterwards to make sure there are no other eggs and keep your garbage bins closed so that no other flies can come back around to lay their eggs on it once again which will cause more maggots and flies.

2. Boiling water

According to research, maggots don’t really drown but spilling boiling water on them can hurt them. So, if you want to get rid of them immediately without having to go to the store to buy repellents, you can try to use boiling water first.

Just make sure that it is really boiling so it will be effective and clean out the area afterwards as it can potentially just make the maggots hide somewhere or go deeper into the area where you can’t see it. Secure the area and make sure it is clean.

3. Sprinkling salt

Some people claim that sprinkling a good amount of salt on maggots worked for them.

However, there are different kinds of maggots out there which means it may or may not work but it’s definitely worth the try, isn’t it? We need to get rid of those maggots! You can try to drop a few and see the reaction.

If it works on one of the maggots, then you can assume that it might work for the others as well. If it’s not enough, then you can try the boiling water too. You have many options and you should use them as much as you can.

4. Raise a pet

Another way you can get rid of those maggots is actually raising an animal that naturally preys on insects like flies and maggots. If you are a fan of amphibian or reptile pets, it’s your time to take advantage of that. Pets like frogs, chameleons, iguanas, lizards and geckos can clear those maggots for you.

Some type of birds also eats maggots and spiders on the other hand also eat and catch those kinds of insects.

One more exotic option for you is the Venus flytrap plant. Although it is a plant, some people like to refer to it as a “pet”. You can feed those maggots to your Venus flytrap plant and they can also catch some of the flies hanging around so the number of eggs turning into maggots will also be lessened.

5. Use force

Worst comes worst, sometimes we must just use force because we don’t really have a repellent available all of the time or have the energy to boil water and see if the salt method works.

You can try to burn the maggots off or crushing them with a solid object… but we want to avoid being so violent as much as possible… so just buy yourself a repellent!