If you want to know how to get maggots out of your trash can, you have probably already seen them. You lift the lid and the smell hits first: a sweet, rotten stink so thick you can almost taste it, sour and metallic at the back of your throat. Then you look down. Pale, rice-sized maggots are squirming over a slick brown puddle, and if you lean in you can hear a faint, wet crackle as hundreds of them move at once. Flies buzz up past your face. The handle feels tacky under your fingers. It is one of the grossest chores a homeowner can face, especially in a warm Florida garage.
Why maggots show up in your trash can
Maggots are fly larvae. A house fly can lay up to about 150 eggs at a time on food scraps, meat juice or the sticky film at the bottom of a garbage can, and in warm weather those eggs can hatch in roughly a day. The maggots then feed for several days, pupate, and a new fly can emerge in as little as about a week. In Palm Beach County heat and humidity, a can that sits between pickups with leftovers inside is close to ideal for that cycle. Flies can also carry bacteria on their legs and bodies, so a can full of maggots is a problem worth fixing fast.
How to get rid of maggots in your trash can, step by step
1. Protect yourself. Put on rubber gloves and old shoes, and work outside away from doors and windows.
2. Bag and seal what is left. Tie up any loose trash and maggots in a heavy bag and keep it closed until your next pickup.
3. Pour boiling water in carefully. Boiling water can kill maggots on contact. Pour slowly into the empty can, away from your feet and hands, and never into a can that could melt or crack.
4. Scrub with hot soapy water. Use dish soap and a long-handled brush on the bottom, sides, lid and handle, where eggs and residue hide.
5. Rinse with a vinegar and water mix. It can help cut odor. Never mix vinegar or ammonia with bleach, which can release harmful fumes.
6. Dry it completely in the sun. Moisture helps flies, bacteria and mold, so let the can dry with the lid open before you use it again.
The catch is the dirty water. Rinsing a can on your driveway or lawn can wash food waste, grease and maggots toward the street, where runoff can end up in storm drains. And a quick hose rinse mostly moves the mess around. It does not sanitize the can.
How to keep maggots from coming back
Keep the lid closed tight. Double-bag meat, fish and food scraps, and rinse food containers before you toss them. In hot weather, some people keep meat scraps in the freezer until the night before pickup. Put the can out every collection day, even when it is not full, and store it out of direct sun if you can. Most of all, keep the inside of the can clean, because a clean, dry can gives flies nothing to lay eggs on.
The easier fix: professional trash can cleaning services
If scrubbing maggots out of a can is the last thing you want to do on a Saturday, that is exactly what trash can cleaning services are for. Wash My Can is a family-owned garbage can cleaning service serving Palm Beach County. We pull up after your trash is collected with our state of the art cleaning trailer, so you do not even need to be home.
Our system blasts your cans with 200 degree hot water at strong pressure, inside and out, to lift away the residue, film and grime that attract flies. Every can is then sanitized and deodorized with eco-friendly products. We also collect all of the wastewater on the trailer, so nothing gets dumped on your lawn, your driveway or into the storm drain. When we are done, your can is left clean, sanitized and back where you keep it.
You can book recurring residential trash can cleaning to keep maggots from getting a start, or order a one-time trash can cleaning to deal with a can that is already crawling. Plans start at $25 a month for monthly service, with Bi-Monthly at $35, Quarterly at $45 and a One-Time clean at $65. Every plan includes 2 cans, with $10 for each additional can, and no contract is required. Monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly plans have a minimum of three services.
Book Wash My Can and never scrub out maggots again
Our trailer hot-water pressure washes, sanitizes and deodorizes your cans at the curb, and we take the dirty water with us. Plans start at $25 a month, 2 cans included, no contract.
