What you're looking at
Maggots are fly larvae. Flies are drawn to the smell of decomposing organic matter, land on it, and lay eggs — and in warm weather those eggs hatch fast. A bin that has residue baked onto its walls and floor gives them somewhere to feed even when the bin is technically empty.
That is the important part: bagging your rubbish more carefully helps, but if there is residue inside the bin itself, you have left the flies a reason to keep coming back.
Dealing with the immediate problem
- Get the bin emptied on the next collection.
- Deal with it outdoors, well away from the house and any open windows.
- Very hot water will kill larvae on contact, and is the simplest first step once the bin is empty.
- Let the bin dry fully with the lid open before it goes back into use. Damp is half of what they want.
Take the usual sensible precautions — gloves, and keep pets and children away from the bin while you are working on it.
Why they come back
Because the food source is still there. Flushing out the visible larvae does nothing about the layer of residue on the floor and walls that attracted the flies in the first place. Unless that is removed, a warm week is all it takes to start again.
Stopping it properly
- Remove the residue, not just the larvae. Interior walls, floor and the underside of the lid — where eggs tend to be laid.
- Keep the lid shut. Obvious, but a propped or broken lid is an open invitation.
- Double-bag the worst of it in summer, particularly meat scraps and pet waste.
- Don't leave the bin wet. Standing liquid in the bottom of a bin is the other half of the problem.
If the bin has got to the point where it is producing maggots, it is well past the point a rinse will fix. A proper clean of the interior and a deodorise is $25 for a single bin.