Maggots in bin from leftover cat food!

[crypticcurls]

Our cats are very fussy and keep changing their minds as to what they will eat, so we often get leftover cat food which I put into the food waste bin - and then get maggots in this hot weather! I've tried washing it down the sink and got a blocked sink. And apparently the same thing can happen if you chuck it down the loo. No dog. And I really don't want to tie it up in a plastic bag when I'm trying to not use plastic! Any suggestions? Thanks

Wrap in paper?

Take your food bin out more often or just use more bags? So knot it tightly closed either way.
You’re using compostable food bags I presume?

I don't think there's much you can do, OP, I've had this too. It's inevitable in this hot weather when they only collect black bin waste once a fortnight or longer. They collect much more frequently in places like Spain as it's the only way to prevent it. For those reading who don't have pets, leftover pet food can't be put in the weekly food bins with lockable lids with other food but has to be put out with the general waste.

If you have room in the freezer, put it in there in an old icecream container and that will kill everything off. In summer I used to keep a bag of food for the bin and just took it out the night before to throw it out.

Just don't get it mixed up with real food.....

You get maggots due to flies laying eggs on food that is left out.

This is why I only give dry food.

I once had maggots in my refuse bin (actually caused when I let someone else use my bin for their rubbish).

I left the lid off and let the birds get on with it. In this dry weather they will really appreciate some juicy protein.

Checked the bin the next day, maggots all gone.

I didn’t know if couldn’t go in the food waste, where does it say this? You could have a bag in the freezer and just throw it out when you put the bin out I suppose.

Of course cat food can go in the food waste. Where have you read that it can't @Prestel?

Empty the indoor caddy more often and double bag the food waste that's goes in the outdoor bin (if you use the compostable food waste bags like I do)

50/50 Bleach will get rid of them.

Boiling water kills them

Don't you have any foxes where you live? All my left over cat food gets put out at night for the foxes. Good for them, good for the fragrance of my bins.

@dementedpixie
On my local council website, but when I come to think of it that might have been back when they recycled it as compost. These days they burn it, I think, for energy, so maybe you can now. In which case I'm not sure why pet food would be any more likely to attract flies than any other food put in the food waste bin. Am I missing something?

Put it in the food waste caddy. Line it with a composting bag or newspaper. Empty daily into your roadside caddy. ( our last council issued two, one for inside one for outside )
wash weekly with soapy hot water or bleach or vinegar/water mix.

@ClaryFairchild has the best idea collecting it in a container in the freezer and then putting in bin the night before or on the morning of collection. I also do this with chicken bones and smelly things like fish skins then they don’t smell and attract the flies. If you’re worried about using too much plastic how about using an old bread bag or similar to collect it in?

We had this problem. We just store left over cat food in the freezer until bin collection day and put it out then.

Added to above post, we don’t have food waste caddies, only black bags.

I'll say it again, feed the foxes with it.

I just don't feed wet food in hot weather. The flies are laying the eggs in the good while it's out, not while it's in the bin. You can't leave wet food out for cats - either put it in the fridge once they've finished eating or swap to dry.

I suppose the cat food gets left out on cat bowls and flies lay their eggs on it. Then the uneaten food is scraped into the food bin and the following day, you've got maggots. At least that is how it has happened for me in the past. My current cats leave nothing behind!

I would either just bag it up (compostable bags) and put it outside or, as another poster has said, expose the maggots to birds. You wont believe how quickly they are eaten!

I saw a TikTok which said put a slice of bread with vinegar in anything with food waste in it and the flies stay away, therefore no eggs and no maggots.

it worked when I tried it!

Then the uneaten food is scraped into the food bin and the following day, you've got maggots.

The following day? I fed my cat at 8am this morning and there were tiny maggots by noon. I wish he wouldn't leave just one or two bits food to attract the flies 🤢 Fortunately we have wild ground behind our garden, so it just gets tipped over there and the bowl then washed out with boiling water.

I love summer but also hate it due to this. It’s ‘boil the cat food’ season in our house. I pour some boiling water into the bowls before emptying the food directly to the outside bin, to kill any potential eggs. It’s not 100% fool proof but it’s definitely got better since I’ve been doing this regularly.

If my garden waste bin has anything in it, or if I’m planning on doing some gardening, I throw the food in that bin too as grass clippings etc seems to suppress the smell and maggots (our council says we can do this, before anyone says I shouldn’t).

Our food and garden waste goes in the same bin too. We get green compostable bags for lining our small indoor caddy

My cat always leaves some food, so I put it into a small container and freeze it, until it's bin collection day, then put it in as a frozen block of food the night before, or I sometimes even chance leaving it until first thing in the morning, especially in this heat. I have had eggs laid around the lid of the bin, but I just wash them off, before they've had a chance to grow into maggots!