Summertime is the season to find maggots in your outside trash or compost bin. These smelly and unsightly larvae come from eggs laid by flies but can easily be killed using Clorox bleach or any other chlorine bleach you may already have in your home. It's important to remember that bleach is a very strong chemical that should be handled with care and safely stored out of the reach of children.
Treating an Infested Outdoor Trash Bin
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Flies are attracted to food and waste and may swarm around your waste bins, leaving their eggs, which hatch into larvae called maggots. Further, flies spread disease, so you want to address an infestation wherever you see one. If your trash or compost bin has a lid, then a great way to get rid of the maggots is by pouring a combination of equal parts water and bleach into the bin, getting as much mixture on the maggots as possible. Close the lid and let the bleach solution do the work.
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The strong chemical fumes of the bleach will suffocate the maggots in approximately 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes has elapsed, open the bin and clean it out, followed by scrubbing it with soap and water and a brush. You can then apply more of the bleach and water combination to the interior of the bin as a preventive measure.
Achieving Instant Elimination
Clorox bleach will kill maggots relatively quickly, but pouring the liquid into the bin, as mentioned above, will not achieve instantaneous results. To accelerate the process, use heat.
In a large pot on the stove, bring a gallon of water to a boil. Once the water begins to bubble, add a cup of bleach and remove from the heat. Pour the hot liquid into the bin. Make sure to get the mixture directly on the maggots.
Killing With Bleach Spray
Applying a ready-to-use bleach spray on maggots will also work since it, too, contains sodium hypochlorite, the main ingredient in bleach. Bleach spray is, however, less effective on heavily infested areas than using a homemade, pour-over water and bleach mixture.
If you notice a few stray maggots that have fallen out of the bin or catch an infestation before it overcomes the entire trash bin, then bleach spray will definitely help. Remember that maggots have a short life cycle, developing into flies that reproduce very quickly, so any signs of maggots or flies should be addressed immediately.