Ew!! MAGGOTS!!!! Please help me!

[goldenkitty45]

DO NOT USE LYSOL AROUND CATS - use a dilute solution of bleach. Lysol is poisoneous.

Maggots come from flies - so if you have a lot of flies in the house, its possible they have laid eggs - you should scoop the pans once or twice a day so that there is nothing for the flies to lay eggs on.

 

[katachtig]

I have been researching high-sided litter pans because Lucy likes to lift her tail-end as high as she can when she is in the litter pan. I came across this site "The Litter Pan for 'Stand-up' cats" which shows how to make the opening for the cat from a large storage bin. I guess Rubbermaid is now making a high-sided litter pan but it is only 11 inches high and little Lucy's tail-end goes higher. So now I need to borrow hubby's power tools and get to work.

As for cleaning, use either regular dish soap or a dilute bleach solution. Allow to completely dry.

 

[trouts mom]

Thanks to everyone who replied, I hopefully have the situation under control. I think when I was moving in the door was left open for hours at a time, and there were alot of flies that got in that day. There was no garbage for them to lay there eggs on, so I think they just tried to lay them anywhere because yesterday I found a whole bunch of pupa in other areas of the basement, and also some maggots that were dead which means they ran out of food.

When I changed her litter the other day, I only saw 2 maggots and a few pupa, so its not like there were hundreds..And they weren't in her litter, just around the box. So hopefully, it won't happen again. I am starting to wipe her pee drips on the side of the box with vinegar instead of lysol, and I will be cleaning the box with dilute bleach from now on...(Bleach kind of scares me though, will it burn my skin? eeek).

I ridded the basement of all the pupa, so I think I got all of them, and as long as more flies don't get in the house, I am praying there will be no more maggots. (When Ken moves out in a few weeks, the door will be left open again, so that will suck for letting flies in, but I will just have to close the basement door so they don't fly in there I guess.)

Anyway, thanks for all your suggestions, I will definately take the advice

 

[natalie_ca]

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

(Bleach kind of scares me though, will it burn my skin? eeek).

You can wear rubber dish gloves.

I don't bother wearing gloves. I empty the cat litter, put the pan in the tub, fill it up with water, add a good amount of bleach and then use the toilet brush to scrub the box clean inside and outside. Then I rinse the box with the hand held shower and let it air dry if there is time, otherwise I just use a clean cloth to dry it and then toss the cloth into the laundry hamper for washing.

 

[jenny82]

OMG. I usually scoop every other day but I am going to scoop at least once a day now!

 

[jen]

Hey guys I found a website with really great information about safer alternatives and less toxic products. The first two on the list, click on them for all purpose cleaners and odor removers.

http://www.lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=household

Oh and for a litterbox, my neighbor buys those big plastic storage containers from walmart or wherever and leaves the lid on them but cuts a big hole in the lid. That way the cat is less likely to knock the box of litter voer and can just enter and exit from the top. They cannot possibly pee or poop over the edge this way and they cannot fling litter all over the place either.

 

[godiva]

I'm confused... is it Lysol or Pine Sol? I knew Pine Sol was toxic because of the phenols, but Lysol dries. Are the residues still toxic in Lysol too?

 

[arlyn]

Yes, Lysol also uses a phenol compound.

 

[trouts mom]

Sorry guys, one more question..

I am going to get one of those tall rubbermaids we have been talking about, and I think I will just leave it open..But I am wondering, won't it be MORE attractive to flies open because they can smell it better if its open?

And also, should I attempt to use a giant litter liner in it? It seems like it would be easier to change that way, but I'm not sure that would work because the container is so huge.

 

[cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

I am going to get one of those tall rubbermaids we have been talking about, and I think I will just leave it open..But I am wondering, won't it be MORE attractive to flies open because they can smell it better if its open?

Don't you have anywhere to put a litter box where flies can't go in and out? It sounds to me as if it is a fly problem more than a litter box problem

Still, I think if you scoop twice a day you should have no maggoty problems- you're just still freaked out about it and can't get it out of your head

 

[trouts mom]

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Don't you have anywhere to put a litter box where flies can't go in and out? It sounds to me as if it is a fly problem more than a litter box problem

Still, I think if you scoop twice a day you should have no maggoty problems- you're just still freaked out about it and can't get it out of your head

I think I am just freaking out, but I can't help it....Maggots are so gross, if I ever see another one, I will DIE.

I don't have a fly problem, but I am just worried the maggot will appear from nowhere somehow, and maybe there are flies lurking that I don't see...Eeeeek, I'm just so worried, I am trying to figure out the best possible thing to do to never see a maggot again!

I do scoop enough, but Trout pees all over the inside of the box, not just in the litter, so I'm worried they will like the pee and make babies there..I try to wipe it all up, but I'm afraid I'll miss some and the maggots will appear again...Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

 

[cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

I think I am just freaking out, but I can't help it....Maggots are so gross, if I ever see another one, I will DIE.

Breathe....

Good air in, bad air out...

It was a once in a lifetime occurrence, and took place only as a result of a cosmic convergence of planets that will not take place again until March of 2378.

You'll be fine

 

[trouts mom]

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Breathe....

Good air in, bad air out...

It was a once in a lifetime occurrence, and took place only as a result of a cosmic convergence of planets that will not take place again until March of 2378.

You'll be fine

Thanks

 

[trouts mom]

Okay, so Saturday Night I notice a few flies flying around the livingroom, and I just kill them one by one, and thats fine. I'm thinking, we may have missed some of the pupa's and they hatched into flies..Well, I went into the laundryroom yesterday to do laundry, and there are about a hundred flies by the window!!! I am freaking out now!! Obviously, we missed alot of pupa's because they've all hatched and now there are zillions of flies in my place!!

Guys, I am so frustrated...I feel like now all these new flies are going to lay eggs (I don't know where they are laying them, there is no garbage or dead animals in my apartment). And the cycle of flies/maggots will continue until I have to move out!! It is SO SICK!

I bought some raid and fly traps yesterday, but I put a fly trap up last night, and not even one fly was on it this morning, so that's not working. I want to use the raid as a last resort because I don't want Trout getting sick from breathing it in.

I am so grossed out!! Why does this happen just when I am about to live on my own, and now I won't have a guy around to clean up the nasty bugs.

I want to bug bomb the laundry room, but all Kens stuff is in there until he moves and he doesn't want his stuff to smell like raid...But meanwhile, all these flies are taking over! Its like a horror movie in there.

Maybe I will take the litterbox and out it in the kitchen for now, and close the laundry room door...then at least there stuck in there and poor Trout doesn't have to go crazy trying to catch them all. Ew, I'm just afraid they will try to lay eggs in or near the litterbox again. I clean that thing so much its not even funny.

Sorry this is so long, but I am at my wits end.

 

[zissou'smom]

They are laying their eggs in something, but it might be something in the wall. If you are renting, this is your landlord's problem, and he has to fix it. Seriously, people will sue over this type of thing. You have an infestation, and it's clearly not coming from the litterbox.

I wouldn't even be able to live there, myself, as flies make me insane. If you do spray Raid or something, take Trout out somewhere so he doesn't breathe it.

Feel better!

 

[trouts mom]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

They are laying their eggs in something, but it might be something in the wall. If you are renting, this is your landlord's problem, and he has to fix it. Seriously, people will sue over this type of thing. You have an infestation, and it's clearly not coming from the litterbox.

I wouldn't even be able to live there, myself, as flies make me insane. If you do spray Raid or something, take Trout out somewhere so he doesn't breathe it.

Feel better!

I just feel like if I tell the landlord, she will say that it is my fault the flies are in there. They all came in when we moved in because the door was left open for so long.

Man this sucks. Maybe I will tell her once Ken moves his stuff out. Then I can see where they are laying eggs. EW!!!!!!!!!

 

[zissou'smom]

That number of flies could not possibly have come in with you just from outside. That is nearly impossible. They were there before, she probably just managed to clean up what was visible before you moved in.

I really think there is a dead animal or something in your walls, from the way you're describing it. Or under the laundry machines.

Tell your landlord. Seriously, the worst she can do is nothing, which is where you are now.

 

[sibohan2005]

my old cat Smokey used to have worms that looked like large maggotts they were white with no eyes. He was an outdoor cat so we never saw then in his litter but every once in a while I would find one crawling on the carpet and that was time to take smokey into the vet to be dewormed

 

[zissou'smom]

Well, she's finding huge quantities of pupa, maggots, and flies... so I think it is a safe assumption that they're really maggots.

If there is something that they are eating, it will be no longer "maggot-inhabitable" within two months of its death, shorter probably with the number you are describing. Either that, or you've got raw sewage somewhere.

The number of flies you are describing could not be sustained on the kinds of things normal people have in an apartment. Unless you have a cow carcass hanging on a butcher's hook in your laundry room, this is your landlord's fault, and worse they probably knew about it but hopefully thought they had taken care of it.

 

[trouts mom]

I'm thinking there were some damp boxes from when we moved, because thats where I saw a few maggots was under a box like that a few days after we moved in. Then I only saw 2 near the litterbox, but dozens of pupa that had not hatched into flies yet.

Since the boxes aren't damp anymore, I don't think they will be able to lay eggs...(dear god I hope not)