The first step in getting rid of maggot infestation from your carpet is to find the infested areas in your house and get rid of them. You’ll have to kill maggots along with eggs and clean them thoroughly afterward. In case you’ve got pets, you’ll have to clean your pets and take them to a vet for a thorough inspection.
There are several ways to perform thorough cleaning depending on if you want to do it organically or chemically. I’ve described the most effective ones in detail below.
If you see maggots in your house area, garden area, or anywhere else. You should know that a particular area needs some cleaning. If found in a car carpet, you should eventually wash the carpet and clean the car. They can be found in leftovers or disposed of food in the trash. Flies are usually attracted to the dirt. They lay their eggs on the disposed of food. When these eggs hatch, they turn into maggots, filthy creatures. I mean, you have no reason to hate it, but there is no way you would want it anywhere in your house.
How are Maggots Formed?
A maggot is a larva of a fly, and it could be a production of any fly. It could be a housefly or a fruit fly. These flies give eggs when hatched and give birth to maggots. After that, this larva turns into pupae and then into a proper fly. This is a continuous cycle of the birth of both maggots and flies.
Flies give birth to maggots, and these fly larvae turn into flies. These flies are captivated by leftover food or dirt or rubbish. Also, flies lay their eggs on pet food or rubbish and later transformed into larvae. They feed on that rotten or disposed food. The flies are usually found in dirty places such as dirty kitchen shelves, filthy carpets, etc.
Furthermore, it has some benefits in the field of medicine. It is used for cleaning wounds and killing bacteria. But outside the world of medicine, it holds no benefit to you. It infects and destroys your fruits and vegetables. Moreover, it can ruin your garden if you do not take steps to eliminate them entirely.
Where do Maggots come from?
Still Water in Pools
If the water in pools is standing still for a long time, then it could be an attractant for maggots. Still, water invites them. Some types of maggot infestations can easily live and reside underwater. They can breathe underwater as well. Hence still water is good habitat. Although, when it turns into flies, it leaves the water and goes to dry grounds.
Rotten Vegetables
Rotten fruits and vegetables are other attractants of maggots. If fruits or vegetables are left to rot in the kitchen area, flies will lay eggs on them.
Filthy Kitchen Area
If kitchen shelves or kitchen area is not kept clean, it will attract flies and maggots. Maggots in the kitchen area could be as disgusting as it sounds. It will destroy all the food items.
Dirty Trash Bins
Although trash bins are for trash, it is very important to clean your trash bins regularly. Not doing so will attract maggots to reside in your trash cans.
Rotten Meat
Some maggots also reside in rotten meat. They live inside the rotten meat and eat that meat. When they are grown up into flies, they leave the rotten meat. After that, they could be found in other areas of your house, such as the kitchen shelve area, kitchen floors, carpets, or in the garden area.
Untreated Wounds
If the wounds on humans or animals are not treated, they captivate flies. The flies then lay eggs on the wounds forming a maggot infestation. This could make the wound even worst. It can give rise to many other infections or diseases. Also, it can slow down the healing of the wound. It is very important to treat the wound as it occurs. Also, never leave a wound untreated on your pets.
How to Get Rid of Maggots in Carpet
Maggots are creepy little flies. No one would want them in their house area. If you discover them on your carpet, first find that source that is attracting them. There could be some spilled food on the carpet. Also, there are other possibilities, and maybe your carpet is dirty. However, it is essential to know that maggots could be eliminated. Hence, there is no need to throw away your carpet. All you need to do is clean and disinfect your carpet with a vacuum cleaner and some boric acid. Please do not use bleach or hydrogen peroxide, which is usually recommended to get rid of maggots. If you use hydrogen peroxide or bleach, it will affect the quality of your rug.
If you want to get rid of maggots from your carpet fibers thoroughly, you need to follow the following steps (learn also to get rid of carpet beetles).
Discover the Source Attracting Maggots
The first step is to find the source that is attracting them. Have a clear and thorough look at your carpet. It would help if you found what captivated the larvae to find a home in your carpet.
Find the attractant. It could be leftover spilled food, it could be pet injury, or it could be a rotten fruit or vegetable lying on the carpet. Once you have discovered the attractant, now you have to remove it once and for all. Make sure to remove the attractant so that they do not come again.
Killing Maggots
After you know what caused them to come into your carpet, it is now time to kill them. In this step, you have to shower or spray some boric acid into the carpet. You could use a brush or a broom to sweep it deep into the carpet. Make sure boric acid reaches out to every part of the rug. Because the surface of the boric acid is rough, it will kill them completely.
Vacuum the Carpet in detail
In the previous step, all the maggot infestations are killed by sprinkling boric acid into the carpet. Now you have to vacuum your carpet deeply with the best vacuum cleaner to clear away the dead filthy creatures as well as the boric acid from your carpet. In case, if you see some of it alive, spray some more boric acid on the carpet and again vacuum it thoroughly. After that, when your carpet is clean, take off the vacuum bag. Wrap the vacuum bag into an airtight plastic bag tightly.
Next, dispose of the plastic bag in an outdoor trash bin away from your house. In case your vacuum cleaner has a canister, first, pour bleach on them to make sure they are dead and throw them in a faraway trash can. After that, again pour some bleach on the canister and clean it.
Steam Clean your Carpet
Only vacuuming the carpet is not enough. You might have missed some of them. To ensure that, you need to steam clean your carpet fibers with a steam cleaner. It will get rid of maggots that are left alive. This step will completely ensure that all larvae are killed, and it will also remove the stains from the carpet. Throw the water of the steam cleaner outside, or you can simply flush it. This is the last step of killing them. After this, your carpet is clean and free from all dirt and filth.
Eliminating Maggots from Car Carpet
Many areas of your car, if left unclean, could be a habitat for maggots. It can easily reside in car carpets, in seats, and in the trunk. If your car is not sent for service or is not cleaned regularly, it would easily live and grow there. These creatures in the car area could be formed if you accidentally drop your food in the car. Hence, it is important to be careful while you are eating in the car & get the best vacuum for your car in order to perform thorough cleaning.
Boric Acid
Boric acid is a lifesaver when it comes to killing maggots. All you have to do is spread some boric acid into the car carpets, under and into the seats, and in the trunk to kill them.
Vacuum Deeply
Vacuum the car carpet using top quality car vacuum cleaner deeply and thoroughly to remove dead maggots. If you still see them, repeat the process over and over again until you are sure all of them are killed. Throw the dead maggots in any outside trash can.
Steam Clean
After that, steam clean your car carpets, the seats, and the trunk area to ensure and avoid any future maggots from growing in your car. Steam cleaning ensures that even all eggs are removed.
Borax
Just like boric acid, borax also kills them. Borax is found in dish-washing soaps. Hence, use those dish-washing soaps that contain borax and spill them into the seats, trunk, carpets, and other parts of the car where you suspect them to be living. This will kill all maggots.
Hot Boiling Water
Spilling hot boiling water over maggots also kills them. If you add a little bleach in boiling water, it will do wonders. Similarly, adding a little hydrogen peroxide into boiling water would also perform the job.
Getting rid of the maggots is tough, but if you know the art of doing the job perfectly, it should be hard anymore. In case you’ve any other queries or would like to share your feedback as well as some cool ways which I might not have mentioned, don’t hesitate to comment.
FAQs
1. Can maggots burrow into carpet?
Maggots can't burrow into carpet, but they can crawl through the fibers. If there's an open wound on your foot, and you step on a maggot-infested carpet, the maggots may crawl up your leg.
2. Does baking soda kill maggots in carpet?
There are a few things to consider when answering this question. First, baking soda is not a registered pesticide and therefore cannot be labeled as such. Second, there is no published research indicating that baking soda is an effective means of maggot control. Finally, there are potential risks associated with using baking soda in this manner, including inhalation of the powder and skin contact.
3. Will Salt kill maggots in carpet?
One technique that has been proven to be effective for killing the maggots is the application of salt. Any table salt will do. Simply sprinkle salt liberally over the maggots. Salt should also be sprinkled around the rim of the bin to deter them from returning.
4. What spray kills maggots?
There are a few different types of sprays that can kill maggots, but the most effective is likely to be a spray made with malathion. This is a pesticide that is known to be very effective against a wide variety of pests, including maggots.
5. Does vinegar kill maggots instantly?
Vinegar will kill maggots, but it may not be instant. Maggots are killed by the acid in vinegar, so they will die once they come into contact with it.
