Maggots

In high temperatures, maggots can develop from fly eggs in as little as 8 hours and even a small increase in temperature can lead to a rapid growth in the density of the housefly population. If you have maggots in either your black bin, green bin or boxes and bags we may not be able to empty them, so you should try to remove or contain them prior to collection day.

Flies are attracted to odours and will lay their eggs in moist or decomposing material. They are especially attracted to materials with high protein content such as meat and fish.

The majority of maggots usually originate in the kitchen. Eggs are laid on food that has been left uncovered, and this waste is then transferred either to your black wheeled bin or from your kitchen caddy into your green bin, these eggs can then quickly hatch into maggots.
 

You can read a list of tips of how to prevent and get rid of maggots below:

Rubbish

• Keep your bin lid closed to prevent flies getting in
• If possible store your bin out of direct sunlight
• Rinse and clean your bin regularly in the hotter weather (there are some companies that will do this for a charge)
• Try to avoid buying too much food during your weekly shop - this will save you money and also reduce the amount you throw away
• If you have maggots in your black bin, try removing your rubbish and re-bagging it into new black sacks, sealing the bag securely by knotting it - this will contain any maggots and prevent the hatching flies from escaping
   

Green and Food Waste

• Place your food waste into your kitchen caddy as soon as possible to avoid flies landing on it and laying eggs, and keep the lid closed
• Use compostable liners in your caddy and tie the bag before placing into your green bin
• Some people find it helps to layer food waste with their green waste, ensuring food waste is not on top of their bin
• Chopping scrap food waste before placing it in the bin encourages the material to break down and decay quicker than normal and attract flies - by not chopping down this waste you will reduce the number of flies attracted to your container
   

Recycling

• Wash your plastic bottles, glass jars and glass bottles so that flies cannot lay eggs on food residue left on your recycling
   

General Advice

• If possible store your bin, boxes and bags out of direct sunlight
• Pour bleach or disinfectant into your bins, boxes and bags to kill the maggots
• The use of fly paper / insecticides may help to reduce any fly problem - please use sprays in a well ventilated area and according to the product instructions
• In addition, some essential oils such as citronella and tea tree are natural insect repellents - try smearing your bin lids / box edges / bag with one of these oils if flies are a problem
• You can use boiling water, salt, or detergents to get rid of the maggots once the bin / box / bag is empty
  - things containing permethrin also works (for example, pledge or hairspray), which may be useful if you have to kill maggots in you waste/recycling - if you kill them off before your collection day you can rebag waste if required and put it out for collection
• Try to avoid buying too much food during your weekly shop - this will save you money and also reduce the amount you throw away