How To Get Rid Of Maggots In Garage Spaces

Why Do I Get Maggots In My Garage

Garages attract several types of pests and rodents, mostly due to low cleanliness and excess clutter. We are very particular about maintaining hygiene inside our homes but don’t make enough effort to keep our garages clean. You need to clean the place regularly if you use your garage for parking and storing old stuff. When you fail to maintain a clean environment inside the garage, you invite many unpleasant guests.

Maggot infestation is the last thing you want to deal with inside your garage. Once the flies enter, it won’t take long to lay eggs that soon hatch into maggots. Maggots are fly larvae that thrive in a garage’s damp and dark corners. If flies find a suitable spot for their larvae’s development, they will begin laying eggs.

Like every parent, a fly needs a hospitable and safe environment to develop its little ones. But before laying eggs, they also look for sources of food that the larvae can feed on in the initial days. This is why flies usually lay eggs near rotting food and garbage. Larvae have a huge appetite and need food around the clock, so they will lay eggs only in those areas with an unlimited supply of food.

If you keep your trash in the garage or food is strewn over the garage floor, there is a good chance of attracting flies and eventually having a maggot infestation. So if you want to prevent maggot infestation in your garage, you need to maintain a clean environment.

How Do I Get Rid Of Maggots From My Garage?

To get rid of maggots in your garage, you first need to find the cause. If you find the reason, finding the solution to end this problem becomes easy. If you don’t get to the root of the problem, it will keep coming back no matter how many times you clear it. Here are the steps that can help you get rid of maggot infestation –

Remove food sources: The flies will go elsewhere to lay their eggs once you remove food items. It might sound cliché but the best solution to end the maggot problem is to clean your garage regularly. When your garage is neat and clean, it will also prevent the entry of other insects and animals, such as roaches and rats.

Use soap or detergent: you can use detergents or dish soap to clean the maggots. These contain a little borax which is an excellent insect repellent.

Use natural fly repellants: Aromatic herbs such as basil, lemongrass oil, apple cider vinegar, clove oil, and camphor or even Vodka are natural fly repellants that will take care of the maggot situation.

Kill Maggots with chemicals: Use insecticides that contain a chemical called permethrin. This chemical compound is the main ingredient in most insecticides. Make sure not to let kids or pets into your garage once you have used an insecticide.

Get an aerosol spray: It is challenging to clear maggots from tight spaces. This requires you to use an aerosol spray that comes with straw applicators. Aerosols contain pyrethrum, which kills maggots instantly. The straw applicators help you to reach even the tiniest spaces.

Deterring Maggots From Your Garage

• If you store pet food in the garage, you must ensure that the food is kept in sealed containers. If you store garbage, tie the bags tightly so flies cannot access them. Also, ensure not to let the trash sit there for longer periods.
• Use traps to catch flies. Using store-bought traps can help eliminate flies before laying eggs in your garage. Take a container and fill it with a couple of inches of water. Then you can add some smelly and sticky bait and a few drops of liquid soap. This trap will lure in the flies and prevent maggots. You can also use fly traps that you can place at different spots in the garage.
• Grow certain plants around your compound. Plants such as tansy, marigold, chrysanthemum, and lavender are fly repellants. Plant them around your home, and they will keep away the flies. Growing carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants or venus flytraps is also a solution.
• Electronic fly traps. Electronic fly traps radiate out white UV light. This light attracts all flying insects towards it and then zaps the insects with electricity. Use an electronic fly trap that you can plug into the outlets in your garage.

Other practical preventive methods

• Some homeowners keep their pet’s food bowls inside the garage. If this is the case, you must ensure that the bowl is cleaned before storing it.
• Garbage cans need to be cleaned regularly. You can use bleach once a week to clean them. Also, always make sure that the lids seal tightly.
• If you have pets ensure that they don’t poop inside the garage
• Seal the holes in your garage. If you see any gaps, you need to seal them to prevent the entry of flies and other insects.