Maggot House

[Effie]

I am cat-sitting for a neighbor while they are on vacation. All I have to do is feed their 3 cats & water their potted plants. We've switched off cat-sitting duties before, so it's nothing new. However, I was just over there to give the kitties some loving, when I noticed that they have MAGGOTS crawling around on their living room carpet. They are not the tidiest of people, but I never thought it was bad enough to cause a maggot problem inside. I'm so grossed out that I don't want to go back, but technically their house is my responsibility, and I'd feel bad if they came back to a maggot infested house.

What do I do? Do I call them and tell them? Do I just vacuum and tell them when they get home? Do I keep the kitties at my house until they get back, or leave them with the maggots? Ugh, I feel like I need to go shower. YUCK!

[Moochiecat]

Re: Maggot House

I think I'd have to shower with Mr. Clean if I saw that..yuck!!
Have you looked around to see where they might have originated from?
I would call the vet and ask if the maggots posed any danger to the cats if the cats eat them or whatever and then call your friends and tell them asap.

Maybe do some surfing or call an exterminator as well and ask if they are easy to eradicate, and maybe you can take steps to start that.

[Jake]

Re: Maggot House

I'd call them and ask if they want you to have an exterminator come in or something of the sort. Maybe they know and just don't care eww. Wouldn't bring anything of theirs into your house though if they aren't that clean they may make your own cats sick.

[Effie]

Re: Maggot House

Update: The maggots appear to be gone. I think what happened was they were taking refuge from the rain last night. After I posted this last night, I went over with grocery bags over my hands and a spray bottle full of bleach. I sprayed their door frame to keep more maggots from going inside. They appeared to be originating from their trash cans outside. We live in a townhouse complex (like rowhouses), so their trash is right outside their door. I noticed that the maggots were crawling all over the front of the townhouse, and there were even 5-10 on my front door. I sprayed everything down with bleach , and this morning there were no signs of maggots. You wouldn't believe the nightmares I had last night. I kept envisioning myself getting thirsty in the middle of the night and going downstairs for a glass of water and stepping in a pool of juicy maggots. YUCK! I'm creeping myself out!

If that isn't motivating to keep your own house clean and your trash emptied, then I don't know what is.

[divaindubai]

Re: Maggot House

I can imagine that would have been a very yucky experience! I'm having a bit of a hayday with huge cockroaches here in Dubai....I was in a restaurant that is always fresh and busy and what I thought was spic and span clean, and when I was eating lunch there a few days ago, came across a huge cockroach on the floor. yuck...i alerted the staff and they attempted to find it, then after I had moved tables, i saw it again...

YUCK i'm not eating there ever again...