MAGGOT CONTROL

    This article is about control MAGGOT CONTROL.
It will explain why they are a pest and what
needs to be done for controlling infestations.
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   Maggots are something most people don't like to
see in and around their home. Generally white and
resembling a worm or caterpillar, most maggots have
a tendency to "gross out" even the toughest of
men. In most cases you will see hundreds if not
thousands at one location and the way they move
makes it appear as though 10 times as many are 
actually present. If you have seen them in your
garbage or out in the yard, you know the feeling.
Well, this article will help shed some light on
this misunderstood insect and then offer various
options on how to treat local infestations.
   Maggots are almost always the young of some type
of insect. Most commonly the young of some specie
of fly, maggots could be young beetles, moths
or many other local and common insects. Virtually
all insects hatch out young which will start its
life as a type of worm-like creature. Fly larva - or
maggots as they are more commonly known - will almost
always be white. They might have a tan, brown or
black head but most people just see white. This is due
to the sheer numbers that most people will happen
upon when they first find any in or around the home.
Since many insects will start out in this form, there
is no common size nor location where they may be found.
Maggots are generally associated with either garbage or
a dead animal. However, they can readily feed on almost
anything organic. This list includes but is not limited
to carpeting, wallpaper, pet food, bird seed, pets, couches,
clothing, furniture, pet hair, people hair, live animals,
plants, fruit, vegetables, cooked meat or food, compost
piles and just about anywhere in the home or immediately
adjacent to it. Though maggots serve to "recycle" most
any type of garbage or other decaying matter, most people
don't want them in and/or around the house!
   Nature has a way of finding a place for most any living
creature and maggots are no different. They are clearly
responsible for the recycling of almost anything which
is considered waste. There are even maggots which are so
highly specialized that they can only eat certain types
of waste! These species are so highly developed that 
the adult stages will actively seek out the special
food requirement their young must have and only when
such a food supply is found will they lay their eggs.
Once the eggs hatch, the larva (maggot) doesn't even
have to search for food. Most maggots will feed for
a few days to a few weeks, depending on species,
and then it will migrate away from the food supply
to seek a good location to undergo metamorphosis. This
is the stage during which the "maggot" turns into the
adult. This usually occurs inside a cocoon or shell like 
case in which the insect will literally transform into
an adult. Once this stage is completed - which could
take a week, a month or even a year - the adult will
emerge with generally only two things in mind: finding
a mate and then reproducing.
   Since there are many things in and around the home
which can serve as food for maggots, all it takes is
a fertile adult female laying some eggs and a local
infestation can ensue. In general, the faster the food
supply is likely to go bad and rot, the faster the 
life cycle of the maggots which will want to eat it.
For example, over ripe fruit and vegetables may attract
several types of flies which will be able to complete
their life cycles in under one week. Maggots may only
need to feed for a day or two which insures the species
will propagate - even if there is only a limited amount
of food around on which to feed. On the other hand, fly
maggots, like Blow Flies, will feed for a slightly 
longer time. Generally this type of maggot will feed
on dead animals. They are commonly found in homes which
had an animal die somewhere inaccessible. This is quite
common due to the use of Rodenticide and the mistaken
belief that the mice or rats that eat it will "go outside
to seek water" or "dry up when they die so they don't
release any odor". Nothing could be further from the
truth! In fact, the most common cause of maggot problems
in the home is due to flies which have been attracted
to the rotting corpse of some animal. And the most common
animal they are finding are either rats, mice or squirrels
with the most common cause of the animals death being
contributed to the use of a rodenticide! If you are
experiencing this problem, we suggest you go to our on 
line article about Rats and Mice and read up on how to
deal with local problems. 
   When maggots are found in or around the home, they
are usually found in one or two stages. Stage one
infestations are when the maggots are found on the
food they need to eat. This many times will be a dead
animal that has died in the attic, crawl space,
under a deck, in the wall or some other area. Once
dead, it will begin to decay. This process releases
gases and odors which will attract flies and other
insects. These insects will start laying eggs on 
the body and larva could hatch in as little as a 
day or two. If the dead animal is large enough, the
inhabitants of the structure will detect its
presence because the smell will become stronger
with every passing day. At some point there will a
search for the source of the odor and if the animal
is found, don't be surprised to find a lot of maggots
as well. At this time, there are a few things which
need to be done. First, the body should be removed
and thrown into a heavy plastic bag that can be
sealed so that as much of the odor, insects and 
germs can be sealed up and contained. The area where
it was laying should be cleaned up with ROUGH'N READY which
will sanitize all treated surfaces. Rough'n Ready is a strong
disinfectant and works well for such applications
killing all types of bacteria, virus and other bad
microbes you don't want around or in the home. Use a
DISPOSABLE RESPIRATOR during the cleanup to insure
you are not breathing in any of these contaminants.
Once sanitized, you should apply either ODOR KILLER 
or NNZ. These are products which are designed to remove
the dead animal odor. Simply spray them over the area
which has been cleaned focusing on any and all surfaces
which had animal contact. You can apply either one with
one of our SPRAYERS but if you are not able to get to
the area where the animal was laying, consider the use
of a FOGGING MACHINE. This device will blow the material
out over 50-70 feet so that you can treat hard to reach
areas quite well. If the targeted area is in a wall,
you won't be able to get liquids to penetrate properly
when sprayed through small holes. For this type of
problem, you will need one of our FOAMING TOOLS along
with FOAMING AGENT. This tool basically takes the
liquid products like ROUGH'N READY and NNZ and converts them to
a thick foam - much like shaving cream - which is much
better suited at penetrating wall voids and staying
where it is applied. It will take a little more time 
and cost to get the job done this way but the results
will be immediate and in the long run save both time,
excessive use of product in the wrong area and a lot
of aggravation. Foaming is very effective for wall
or ceiling applications and if you suspect the targeted
odor and maggot problem is in such a void, there is
no need to rip the wall apart when foaming is
available. 
   Immediately after the odor control product is 
applied, you should then treat with a concentrate called
PERMETHRIN to kill off any maggots which may be hidden
in cracks and crevices around the area where the body 
was positioned. Since maggots will leave the body on
which they were feeding, some could be 10-20 feet away 
and sometimes more. If you don't treat, expect to have
these well fed maggots undergo their metamorphosis during
the next few days and to start emerging once fully developed.
Use either one of our SPRAYERS or the FOGGING MACHINE
to do the application but the key is to be able and
get the product properly dispersed over the area where
activity was noted. And don't rule out live animals, such
as pets, when trying to locate the source of young maggots. 
It is quite common to have maggots suddenly appear on 
otherwise healthy dogs or cats. This will generally happen 
during the warm summer months and seems to occur more on pets 
which are kept outside. It also seems to be more common on
animals which are either sickly or have sustained some sort
of injury. Animals with long hair can hide the maggots and
it can be hard to see them without making a close inspection.
Though not life threatening, maggots on any animal eating
at their hair and skin is not good. Such a condition will
only serve to weaken the animal and make them susceptible
to disease and infection. If you find maggots on your pet,
there are two products which need to be used. First, the
animal should be washed well to help remove any maggots
that are alive. Use some MELALEUCA SHAMPOO for this job. It
will both help to dislodge maggots and maggot eggs. This
special formulation will also promote healing of the skin
and fur and help to take away the "itch". Taking away 
the irritation and itch on the animal is key to getting it
healed. Once it has been cleaned, apply some of our
WATER BASED PET SPRAY. This material has both Pyrethrin and
Permethrin as active ingredients. These two actives will
work two ways. First, the Pyrethrin will quickly kill off
any live maggots which were not removed during the bathing
of the animal. Second, the Permethrin will leave a 1-2 week
residual on the skin and fur of the animal. This residual
action will kill off any maggots that hatch during this
time to prevent further infestations on the pet. Also,
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT NOT TO USE AN OIL BASED SPRAY ON
THE HOST PET. Oil will not only irritate the pets skin,
it will prevent proper healing and only lead to more 
discomfort and problems. You must only use a Water
Based material like our spray detailed above. And if
the animal is covered with maggots, be sure to spray it
down prior to washing with the Melaleuca. This will
help with the removal of them during the bath because
dead maggots will wash away a lot easier then live ones.
You will have to retreat the pet once dry but a good 
spraying will allow for better and faster results when 
dealing with active maggots on pets.
   Another type of Stage One infestation that is fairly
common occurs in garbage or carpeting. Since there are
many organic things in garbage (like thrown away food),
flies and other insects are drawn to these areas due
to the odors and gases which are released. This is
especially common during the warmer months of the year.
The heat contributes to the problem in two ways. First,
it gets the garbage to rot faster which in turn causes
it to release all it's natural attractants which in 
turn attract insects. The insects are able to complete
their life cycle that much faster because both the
source of their nutrition (the rotting garbage) and the
high temps allow for a faster then normal growth rate.
Common areas for this type of problem are outside where
garbage is kept, around pet kennels, compost piles
and in garages. In fact, garages will many times present
the best place for such an infestation because cars 
which are parked while very hot cause the temperature
to get unnaturally high. This extra high temperature
enables the maggots cycle to complete that much faster.
For such areas, there are two things which should be
done. First, spray the area on a regular basis with
NNZ. This product works to remove the smell of the
garbage which in turn will prevent insects from coming
around wanting to lay eggs. It can be applied in garbage
pails, around where garbage is stored, pet runs and
kennels, compost piles and just about anywhere you are
having the problem inside or outside the home. Apply it 
with any of the Sprayers we have featured above and 
use it once a month or as needed to keep odors in check.
To further insure you don't get an outbreak of maggots
in these areas, spray PERMETHRIN over the surface areas
on a monthly basis as well. It will prevent any maggots
from thriving once they hatch from eggs. It can be
applied on the garbage pails, garage floors, baseboards,
moldings, carpeting and just about any place where
maggots have been active. Regular treatments will insure
you don't get reinfested.
   Stage Two infestations are when you don't actually
see the maggots when they are feeding. Instead, you happen
to find them migrating through your home. In most cases,
dozens of maggots will be seen crawling around without
any real destination or direction. They could be on the
floor, furniture, under appliances, on the walls
and just about anywhere in the home. This type of infestation
is basically when the maggots are relocating from their
source of food to where they want to stage their metamorphosis.
Since small amounts of food can serve to enable many
maggots to grow, it is not always detectable. Many times a 
piece of meat or some other food can fall behind or 
under an area in the kitchen where it remains hidden.
Its odor may be slight enough to avoid detection by
the people who live there but most any fly or other 
insect will certainly find it. Once they do, egg laying
will start and the beginning of a maggot infestation
has started. Common areas for such infestations are under
furniture, carpeting and in laundry rooms or where 
pets are kept. Households with small children and pets
seem to get this problem more frequently and since
it only takes a small amount of food or some other
organic material to allow maggots to breed, having
a maggot outbreak does not mean you have a messy
home. It can happen in the cleanest of houses,
without any warning and where you would least expect
such activity. If a Stage Two infestation is found,
it is important to try and locate what the maggots
may have been eating. It will most likely be in
the room with the most maggots so spend a lot of
time checking everywhere in that room and be sure
to turn over any furniture cushions, look under
couches and check up high on wall units. Many
maggot infestations are the result of some youngster
throwing some food up on a wall unit behind a
book where only the flies were able to find it!
Two weeks later the house is crawling with maggots
and a month later there are flies everywhere!!!
Once you feel confident you have found the main
source of food for the maggots or if you believe
they must have ate it all, you need to do two 
types of treatments. If the maggots were crawling
through the carpeting, it is best to treat it with
the PERMETHRIN listed above. Apply about 1 gallon
of finished product to every 1000 sq/ft of carpeting.
Be sure to treat the entire main room and don't forget
the neighboring rooms as well. Since maggots will
travel 50-100 feet, it is not uncommon for them to
be in many other rooms once they have been on the 
move. Additionally, it is best to treat all the
moldings, baseboard seams, door frames, and spaces
where maggots would want to nest with BAYGON AEROSOL.
This product comes with a long straw which is perfect
for getting the material deep into the voids where
the maggots like to hide. Since this stage of insect
is easy to kill, both the PERMETHRIN and BAYGON will
provide a residual action of 2-4 weeks so that any
maggots which crawl over treated areas will assuredly
die. 
   If any of the maggots were able to spin their 
cocoons and start to pupate, chemical treatments won't
affect them. Once they are sealed up in their protective
cases, they will be able to withstand being sprayed
directly. This means you can do nothing but wait and
expect to have some adult insects emerging in the
next few weeks to a few months depending mostly
on the species which was active. The good news is
that any of the food supply which was able to allow
the first infestation to start should be gone. If you
have taken measures to prevent this from happening
again, the few that make it to adulthood should die
off in a few days in a futile attempt to find food
on which to lay their eggs. However, if you failed to
either treat following the maggot activity or if you
have allowed the conditions which led to the first
infestation continue, these hatching adults may just
be able to breed and reproduce successfully. If this
is happening, you must try and find the food supply
on which these adults are laying their eggs so
that it can be removed or treated as detailed above.
Lastly, if the adult stage is a Fly or some other
pest which is emerging in numbers that are not tolerable,
we suggest you go back to our on line article archive
and read up on how to control the adult stage of the
insect you now have. We have in depth articles on how
to deal with flies, beetles, ants, carpet beetles, 
cigarette beetles, drugstore beetles, fleas, roaches
and just about any nuisance insect. Since any of
these could start in the home as a "maggot", if
you have allowed them to complete their life
cycle you will have to do more now to knock them out
and get them under control. Our on line articles
will help explain and detail all that is needed.

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