Maggots

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

Today was trash day and it couldn't come soon enough for me.

Never before has our trash can been filled with thousands of maggots. We had generously sprayed Zevo in and on the trash can and lid several times, wiped the trash can and lid and partially washed the trash can and lid.

And still this morning there were thousands of maggots still squiring around.

We had never seen that volume before. But it was also the first time my husband and son had oysters at home. The oysters were fresh and when we bought them they were packed in lots of crushed ice and in aluminum trays.

I am guessing it was the oyster shells that attracted to flies and therefore produced the maggots? I can not think of any other food that would cause such a mess.

It was such a success with my husband and son are talking about doing it again. But I never want to see that mess again.

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

@drizzellla It's possible a female fly flew inside while the lid was open or through another opening. Zevo does not prevent eggs from hatching. Might not affect the maggots. Does Zevo kill larvae?

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

When I was a kid, it was my job to wash the dishes and take out trash after dinner.

Our trash cans were lined with newspaper and most food scraps were disposed of in empty plastic bread bags or wrapped up in newspaper before placing in the cans.

I remember the flies and maggots...yuck.

Since married, I have never seen maggots in our trash cans. All trash is in plastic garbage bags, sealed tight, then placed into trash cans with tight fitting lids.

I admit to placing garbage in the freezer in a closed plastic bag if it is hot out and days before trash pick-up if it is stinky items...like seafood shells or crab legs or raw chicken parts.. I always remember to put the frozen bag out the night before pick up. That way there is no stinking up the trash can or attracting flies.

I hate flies and I hate maggots. I don't envy you having to disinfect the trash cans.

Starpolisher · ‎03-10-2010

@Carmie

My mom freezes her trash too! She does it year round. I'd never heard of anyone else doing this! 😅

"Kindness is like snow ~It beautifies everything it covers"
-Kahlil Gibran

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

I freeze trash that contains fats and proteins, but not vegetable trimmings or skins from fresh fruits.

PA Mom-mom · ‎05-27-2015

Our garbage goes into a Hefty trash bag with a drawstring and pulled tight. Then it goes into a trashcan with a tight fitting lid. We have our fair share of chicken parts and seafood shells. Sometimes, if I want to get rid of something particularly heinous, I put it into a plastic supermarket bag before I put it into the trash bag. I haven't seen any maggots in years.

If I were your family, I would hate to give up fresh oysters, so I hope you can find a solution.

TheMemphisVette · ‎02-01-2015

i am in the hot south and bear country

meat/fish trash gets wrapped tight and goes into freezer

pulled for trash day

veggy or wet trash gets sprayed and double bagged before going into trash

left overs / fridge cleanout is done trash day

if the above was not done, the bugs and such would be unbearable.

~~today may be my last.....i choose JOY!~~

Citrine1 · ‎03-09-2010

@drizzellla I was under the impression you lived in Philly. I guess you're outside the city if your trash got picked up!

(For those of you who don't know, our sanitation workers are on strike.)

My husband was going to take our 6 bags to the dump today, but my son-in-law said he drove by there earlier and the cars are lined up for miles. There's a large police presence so, I believe, everything is orderly, but who wants to wait in those lines?

I'm hoping the strike ends quickly and things get back to normal. These men and women work hard and deserve a raise!

retiredatlast · ‎06-15-2015

I also put food scraps and smelly items in a sealed bag in my freezer and take them out and put them in the trash can on garbage day. I live in the desert and keep my garbage cans in the garage, closed of course. (The outside temperature can get to over 120 in the summer, most days around 115, and I don't want any garbage to cook outside.) The temperature in my garage can get to 110, so I don't put the frozen garbage in the can until I take it out to the curb. Had to learn this all after some bad experiences after moving to the desert. Lived in the SF Bay area before and this was never an issue until moving to the desert.

My friends all laughed and thought I was nuts doing this and now they all do it too.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

@Citrine1 wrote:
@drizzellla I was under the impression you lived in Philly. I guess you're outside the city if your trash got picked up!

(For those of you who don't know, our sanitation workers are on strike.)

My husband was going to take our 6 bags to the dump today, but my son-in-law said he drove by there earlier and the cars are lined up for miles. There's a large police presence so, I believe, everything is orderly, but who wants to wait in those lines?

I'm hoping the strike ends quickly and things get back to normal. These men and women work hard and deserve a raise!

I forgot about the strike. Yes, I live just outside Philadelphia. And out trash was picked up by 8 AM. I did see pictures on local sites, of dumpsters in various areas of Philadelphia for people to dump their trash. Wonder if you live near any of those areas. I will try and find the site.