Maggots get the cold shoulder (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Maggots get the cold shoulder
1:10pm Thursday 7th August 2008 in News By Carl Burkitt
Beryl Harris who has come up with clever idea to stop maggots appearing in her wheelie bin
FREEZING your old scraps of food before throwing them away will prevent maggots occurring.
This is the message from retired nurse and Swindon Advertiser reader Beryl Harris.
After reading about Kevin Benham and Ross Noakes’ maggot infestations, caused from delayed wheelie bin collections last week, Beryl contacted the Advertiser to let the people of Swindon in on her top tip.
Beryl, from Thorne Road, in Eldene, said: “It’s simple. Instead of throwing away old plastic containers, that you get things like strawberries in, keep them.
“Put all your scrap foods and bits and bobs from your plate into the container then put them in the corner of the freezer.
“Then, the night before your bin is to be collected, or in the morning, put them in black bags in your wheelie bin.
“Anything frozen will not attract vermin or maggots or anything.
“I can’t see where the problem is, it’s common sense to me.
“We all get stuff in containers that we can’t recycle so we should just put them to good use.”
The council last week suggested that keeping the bin in a shady area, ensuring the lid is tightly shut, will help prevent attracting maggots.
And any that do appear can be killed by pouring boiling water over them.
But Beryl is adamant her idea is a winner.
She said: “I’ve done it ever since I’ve had a wheelie bin and I’ve never had maggots.
“It was an idea I just came up with myself.
“My husband says I apply logic to everything and it doesn’t always work, but this does.”
Mr Benham, from Stratton, said he found maggots after leaving his wheelie bin in his garage for a week.
Ross Noakes, from Sun Lane, in Wroughton has also had a problem with the larvae.
A spokesman for the council said it is common for maggots to be found in bins during the summer months.
“Wheelie bin lids, if kept tightly closed, prevent flies from getting at the contents,” he said.
“It also helps to store the bin in a shady area if possible, as this reduces the chance of the contents heating up which increases the smell, which in turn attracts insects.
“If the bin does have maggots in it most will be removed when it is emptied, but maggots and eggs will be killed by boiling water.”
Comments(14)
Mick12
says...
2:04pm Thu 7 Aug 08
yeti
says...
2:16pm Thu 7 Aug 08
The Mancunian Way
says...
2:55pm Thu 7 Aug 08
Sashstaff
says...
2:59pm Thu 7 Aug 08
claire1979
says...
3:27pm Thu 7 Aug 08
cannycat
says...
3:56pm Thu 7 Aug 08
The council should return to weekly collections, providing half-sized bins if concerned about a possible drop in recycling levels.
PaulD
says...
4:09pm Thu 7 Aug 08
claire1979 wrote:why would left over food be disgusting?
Oh my god that is discusting!!! - i would never put that in my freezer!!!
I don't think this method is necessqary, but it's not disgusting
johnny lim
says...
4:20pm Thu 7 Aug 08
Robh
says...
4:34pm Thu 7 Aug 08
It is vermin that should concern us. Their waste can cause serious disease.
Mavis
says...
4:58pm Thu 7 Aug 08
Moth
says...
6:04pm Thu 7 Aug 08
yeti wrote:Fine Yeti except the lids don't shut tight. There is a small gap between the inner and outer lips which let the flies in - and the maggots out.
no need to freeze anything.just keep the lid on your bin shut tight.people have themselves to blame then moan and whinge all the time.
Mavis. We double and triple wrap everything, wash the bin out with Jeys fluid and boiling water and we still got maggots - as did everyone else in our street.
If, as some of you say, there shouldn't be a problem with maggots, why is it that several councils (with more sense than our one) returned to weekly collections?
BWB
says...
8:03am Fri 8 Aug 08
Some Intrapreneur,could collect,and
Sell the Maggots to Fishing Clubs.
Alan Sugar,Watch this space.
ourtone
says...
11:12am Fri 8 Aug 08
2:16pm Thu 7 Aug 08
"no need to freeze anything.just keep the lid on your bin shut tight.people have themselves to blame then moan and whinge all the time."
Yeti,
I will give you a hundred pounds if you can seal my bin lid tight. It is think plastic, distorts easily and a gap is always left somewhere.
I have tried weighing it down with bricks, and it still leaves a gap.
Sometimes people are entitled to whinge. The solution is simple. Collections are two weekly.
We only get maggots in the second week. If collections were weekly, we wouldn't get maggots.
Mavis' tip is useful to a point. The point being that my freezer has got food in it. We wouldn't have the room to spare for mouldy old food.
yeti
says...
11:52am Fri 8 Aug 08
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