Maggots in bin - new reflections on an old problem

[GrendelsMum]

I posted smugly on a recent thread where someone said that she had maggots in her bin, to say that we had never, ever in our lives had such a problem (and, more helpfully, to suggest that perhaps keeping the bins in the shade helped).

This week we had maggots for the first time ever!

So, I deduce that something we did this week must attract flies / maggots.

Two things were different this week - the main one being that we threw away a lot of uneaten food, mainly meat, and the second being that I think not all bags were securely knotted shut, but some were just pulled closed with drawstrings.

I therefore posit that one of these factors is key to maggots in bins.

Honestly, the bin this week was disgusting - normally our black bin is mainly non-recylable packaging and a few double wrapped bones, so not particularly smelly. This week it absolutely reeked, and of course had the lovely maggots.

I wondered whether many people do throw leftover meat into their dustbin and whether this is a major factor in encouraging flies? The meat appeared to rot into sort of decomposing fluids, which might be just what flies like.

I usually put leftover meat scraps and bits I trim off before cooking in a sealable plastic bag before throwing them out. Flies do love smelly meats, raw or cooked. Hence flies' interest in roadkill.

Yep its definately the meat that does it. That and poo

What a delightful conversation!!

Definitely the meat combined with the heat, I was at my mum?s cooking meat, I went to throw the scraps and out and she made me wrap them in cling film first, which I thought was very ?un green?. Anyway turns out they had has maggots in the bin once, never again.

Ah?and poo, that will be why when my DD had a pooie nappy she didn?t mind changing her, so she could make sure no scrap of poo reached the bin (she is quite fussy when she gets going).

hi guys im doing a bit of market reaserch for myself.ive had the maggot problem a few times over the last few years which forced me to come up with a way to totally stop the problem. id like to know would anyone buy a gadget ive designed that would be cheap and 100% effective ? i tested it in the summer by leaving rooting fish in a bin for a month in the garden and not one fly or maggot.

apparently flies lay eggs and they become maggots. a fly can get in your bin and have a field day. sometimes flies lay eggs on food matter, before it's even reached the bin. By this i mean sstuff left out, only for a short time can have a fly visiting it.

meat is main culprit.

I opened my bin the other day and was horrified to find maggots cascading over the sides as I lifted the lid up! I sprayed at them madly with about half a can of fly killer, shut the lid to contain the fumes and ran back into the house! I haven't been brave enough to check if it has worked yet!

All depends swimmer- how much it would be etc

Scaryhairycat, if bin is empty cook em. Just pour a whole kettle of boiling water ina nd shut the lid. The will be almost all dead inside 5 mins, so them tip it out down drain and repeat. If bin is full you are stuffed sorry!

If bin is full, shake a load of soda crystals into it! Think that works like "strong" salt, and they shrivel up and die.......

The bin is full(ish) but thanks for the tip dreamteamgirl will bear that in mind!
jazzandh that sounds like a good idea - I have plenty of soda crystals to hand so if the fly killer didn't work, (not very environmental friendly I know - it's a recycling bin as well!) I will give that a go, thank you!

We put leftovers and uneaten food into the green bins which are recycled here. Now we have a dog, we have less leftovers though.

So we're pretty sure it's meat and poo, then!

If only we'd put the meat in the green bins we'd have been fine - our council runs a scheme where you're supposed to put meat and fish in whichever bin it is due to be emptied that week, so it doesn't get the chance to be maggoty. But we never usually throw out meat, so I never realised it was going to be so much of a problem. UGH.

hi dreamgirl.andall reading this. my little invention im hoping will cost pence,be bio degradable and stop people double bin bagging etc.i started this after coming home one night and finding maggos all over the bin,on the floor outside my front door. discusting.

hi again guys , so im getting that people do have problems with maggots ???? im trying to develope a product that will 100% stop this im near the manufacture stage im a single dad who had a major maggot problem last summer so decided to come up with a solution.please keep replying and telling me of your problems and if you would buy a solution

I had them for the first time a couple of weeks ago in my little kitchen food bin that then gets emptied into the bigger food bin outside. I think I did put meat into it that week and we had about 4 flies in the house so I guess that's why.

The kitchen food bin was fecked into the hedge. Sorry but I really draw the line at m***s in my kitchen so food recycling can go hang.

Would definitely buy something that would stop it.