We had an adventure this morning, of a less-than-pleasant nature. I was putting together some rice pudding for breakfast, when I noticed Zaylee playing with a tiny squirming thing on the floor. I assumed it was a little caterpillar; we had been outside for a couple minutes earlier, and I thought maybe she brought it in on her foot or something. So I grabbed it (eww! - it was really squirmy and yucky) and tossed it out the back door.
That's when I noticed that it was not alone. There were a few more pudgy little squirmies stuck on a cobweb by the door. Ooookay, that's weird.
Then I saw another one on the floor.
And another...
And another!
The floor was crawling with little squirmy things!!!
I freaked out just a tiny bit, then ran for the vacuum. Using the hose attachment, I sucked up squirmy after squirmy, all the while wondering what they were and where they came from! As I moved the trash can, cooler, and refrigerator out of the way to vacuum the critters out from under them, I noticed the rice pudding just in time to prevent a boil-over. But I was a little too late to prevent it from burning on the bottom. Oh well, I just stirred it and kept it cooking, but turned down the heat. Then I was back on the hunt.
I cleared the floor in the pantry and vacuumed up more little yuckies. I found them under the potatoes, hiding behind the bread machine, and squirming across the dining room floor.
Finally I realized that more were crawling out of the trash can. The trash can that we've been meaning to empty for days. The trash can that has not been emptied for much longer than I care to try to remember. And it suddenly hit me.
Maggots.
All those annoyingly pesky flies that have been buzzing around for the past several days have been reproducing in our trash can! YUCK!!!
So I ran the trash can to the dumpster and emptied it. This is the first time I've emptied the trash can myself the whole time we've lived in this apartment (it's pretty much Jeff's job). Desperate times call for desperate measures. I then sprayed the inside with an all-purpose cleaner with bleach, and set it outside.
About this time the burnt - I mean extra done - rice pudding was ready to eat. So we sat down to enjoy a nice, peaceful breakfast. Well, it would have been nice. The kids loved the rice pudding, and thoroughly enjoyed every bite. But I had to keep getting up to vacuum away squirmy little maggots crawling around under and around the table.
Since emptying the trash, and getting rid of (I hope) the source of the problem, the maggots have been sighted in less numbers, but I've still had to turn on the vacuum several times throughout the morning to suck down more of those pesky little suckers.
Yeah, chalk this one up to my horrible housekeeping "skills." I just don't keep this apartment clean enough, and now it's coming back to haunt me. So this round: Maggots - 1, Housekeeping - 0.
Pout again.
8 comments:
OK, More than BIG Bummer! We had a maggot experience when we lived at Edwards...gratefully it was an outdoor experience! (though we did have to call maintanance...which was VERY embarrassing) Keep vacuuming, bleaching, disinfecting, and empying the trash....this too shall pass:)
EEEEWW! Yuck! That's okay, no one here is judging... I had to throw away a pair of underwear of Nathan's the other day. When he poos in them I soak them in a bucket for a bit, then dump them in the washer on spin cycle. Well, I soaked this pair, for a long time. A really long time. (like nearly 2 weeks...) by the time I remembered they were in there I had to bleach them. After 3 intense washings, they still smelled like moldy poo and I had to throw them out. So don't feel bad! -blame Jeff- ;-)
(by the way, how did you get lucky enough to snag a guy that actually takes out the trash?)
Ohhhh....wow! That is totally gross. BUT, It can happen, so not to worry. Way to be on top of things getting it all cleaned up! WOW!
May your maggots flee and you be returned to a normal, critter free life! :)
What a bummer good luck getting rid of them.
I would have been absolutely traumatized... lol... I might have just packed up and moved :) I've had mice, snakes, spiders, ants and just about everything else in different houses I've lived in, but thankfully no maggots *knock on wood*
www.theamericanhomemaker.blogspot.com
Ugg...we had a similar problem last year. But the flies laid all their eggs under Emma's crib. Totally disgusting. We left the apartment for a week until maintenance took care of it. I really feel for ya!
Sounds fairly disgusting! But glad you are getting them under control.
Oh dear! I think I would have fled the premises and made my husband get rid of them. eek!
Let me tell you, the thing I hated the most about living in an apartment was having to walk to trash all the way to the dumpster. We did not take it out nearly as often as we should have. It is so nice now that we have a house. All I have to do is pop out to the garage and once a week roll it to the curb.
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