Households across the UK are being urged to pour boiling water in their wheelie bins this coming week to guard against an unsettling invasion inside all of our dustbins. When the hot weather, returns dustbins, wheelie bins and household bins in general will become inundated with wiggling, crawling maggots. The fly larvae love hot conditions and enclosed spaces with plenty of food, which a bin provides in spades.
A tip shared by Mark Hall, from businesswaste.co.uk, suggests people should use hot water and disinfectant or bleach in their bins to remove maggot eggs before they hatch – or just throw boiling water in there if you’ve left it too late to catch them before they hatch, especially as red hot weather is set to return for several parts of the UK by Friday.
He said: “The summer heat can turn bins into a breeding ground for maggots when household waste isn’t managed properly.
“It’s easier to prevent maggots making a home in your bins than it is to evict them. Making sure your bins are as clean as they can be before the weather gets warm is the simplest solution.
“Use hot water and a strong disinfectant or bleach solution (one part bleach to 10 parts water). Scrub the bin’s interior and lid thoroughly, focusing on corners and crevices where maggots might live and hide. Rinse well and let the bin dry completely before using it again.
“If it’s too late and maggots are living in your bin, pour boiling water over them. The extreme heat will kill the maggots instantly. Afterwards, dispose of the dead maggots and sanitise the bin with hot water and disinfectant (as described above).”
Mark added that maggots are attracted to food waste, which rots more quickly in the summer heat. Ideally, compost waste food in a compost bin but otherwise seal up any food bags tightly so maggots can’t get in.
Otherwise, moving the bin to the shade can help stop maggot infestation too.
Mark adds: “Maggots are quite prevalent in the summer due to the heat, but there are a lot of easy ways to prevent and remove them. Just applying a couple of these tips should be enough to prevent these pests from becoming a problem.”
The Met Office says the heat will slowly creep back in over the coming week, with temperatures hitting 30C when weather maps turn red hot on Friday, July 11.