Frequently, people will ask me this very inquiry. Since maggots invariably make their way into a refrigerator, the reason why is a topic of much curiosity. Everyone who has a home with a refrigerator knows the terror of having their food spoil.
It’s very obvious: maggots are drawn to the stench of decaying food within your fridge, rather than entering through any cracks or crevices.
A little puddle of liquid left behind by an undetected leak or spill might serve as a fertile breeding ground for maggots.
Maggots are usually content with feasting on the free food and avoid venting their swarms within the fridge or its piping.
Preparing the inside of the fridge is the key, as this is where any lingering eggs or larvae will be killed.
The good news is that, however disturbing, maggots are harmless to humans and your refrigerator.
Once you’ve cleaned up the garbage, the maggots will perish.
The bad news is that until you discover where the maggots are coming from, the same thing won’t happen with the following batch.
Maggot infestations typically start with a rotting piece of meat or fruit, so it’s a good idea to regularly inspect your fridge for any spoiled food that could be attracting flies.
What is the fridge maggot lifespan?
The larvae of many kinds of flies, including houseflies, look like maggots.
Maggots are parasites that feed on the flesh of warm-blooded animals including humans, cattle, and sheep.
They are considered a biological control since they devour and convert dead organic debris into food for the fly.
But if you’re anything like me, maggots conjure up images of the nastiest things you can imagine.
Instinctively, you might think the worst when you see a garbage bag full of what appear to be hundreds of writhing maggots.
You might be shocked to find, however, that maggots are really uncommon in even the stinkiest-looking sack of decomposing meat.
Because maggots require high temperatures to thrive, keeping trash bags in the fridge protects them against infection.
Even if maggots get inside a bag of meat and are imprisoned in the fridge, they won’t last long.
Whenever the temperature dips below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, maggots begin to die and typically perish within a few hours.
Maggots usually won’t last more than 12 hours in a refrigerator because the temperature is usually regulated at 40 degrees or 30 degrees.
Are maggots capable of entering airtight containers?
One of the most frequent types of kitchen storage containers is made of plastic.
These containers are also notorious for harbouring insects.
Before food is stored in an airtight container, fruit flies and moths can lay eggs in it.
The eggs of these insects can hatch into maggots if the cap of a plastic bottle is left off or damaged.
In any case, they will be trapped inside until you either release them or remove the lid.
In the presence of food, maggots can survive in an enclosed space.
The food item might be either living or nonliving, but it must be an organic substance.
Outside of that, the maggots won’t die even if the container is completely airtight.
Is it possible for maggots to chew through a trash bag?
Everybody knows the routine of putting garbage in bags and setting them by the curb on trash day.
What happens, though, if the bag sits in the trash bin for too long and the rubbish inside begins to smell particularly bad?
To find out how long a garbage bag could withstand the odour, a buddy of mine conducted a small experiment.
As part of the experiment, we left a trash bag inside a sealed trash can for four months.
Two months later, many people were surprised to see maggots within the bag.
Do not, then, assume that your garbage bag has a long lifespan and can be used for several weeks before it must be discarded.
Plastic is not a barrier for maggots.
The difficulty is that the larvae of the common housefly and other types of flies feed on the petroleum used in the production of many types of plastics.
So the maggots’ only concern is finding a way to chew through the plastic and feast on the petroleum.
Once they’ve gotten all they can out of one location, they’ll go on to find somewhere else to eat.
They can and will gnaw holes in it because of its lack of durability.
Conclusion
Even if you don’t give much thought to anything beyond what’s in your fridge, the critters who make their homes there probably give you a lot of thought.
The fact is that your refrigerator may be a bustling hub, home to a diverse and oozing biosphere.
In case you’re feeling bold after reading this, you can identify the various fridge dwellers and clean up the mess they leave behind if you dare open your fridge.
