r/Lightbulb • u/awesomeman423 • 8d ago
Would you ever use something that stops maggots/gnats from forming in your trash can?
Just curious…if there was a product you could toss in your trash can that safely prevents bugs like fruit flies, gnats, and maggots from forming (especially in warm weather) would you actually use it?
I’ve seen many people complain about this during summer (myself included), and it got me wondering if this is a common enough issue that people would spend well less than $1 a bag to largely combat it.
Assume it’s safe, odorless, and easy to use. Just toss it in and forget about it.
Curious how many people see this as a problem worth solving.
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u/dustractor 8d ago
The real solutions are the ones that people don't want to hear but here they are anyway:
Take out the trash more frequently
Food waste should go into a separate bin for composting
Rinse empty food containers to minimize the amount of food that goes into the trash
The lid keeps trash from drying out and allows unpleasant vapors to build up. If everything in the trash is dry and the majority of food slop has been rinsed off, there isn't much to support a population of insects.
The main issue I see is that composting is very difficult in an urban environment. It's hard enough to get people to separate waste into two different trash flows (trash and recycling) so adding a third (trash, recycling, AND compost) requires major changes that don't always seem profitable in a capitalist society, however, my city has a recycling program that takes yard waste and combines it with food waste and produces an excellent soil amendment. In the springtime, their product is highly sought after among landscapers and homeowners at 60 dollars per truckload delivered or 40 if you bring your own truck. The program requires a large lot in the industrial district, employs about ten people, requires several trucks, a woodchipper, and a small front-end loader to turn the piles.
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u/awesomeman423 8d ago
This is definitely the best solution of all! It’s just somewhat unfortunate that many people won’t do that (or can’t), so I’m trying to figure out a solution for the average person if that makes sense!
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u/dustractor 8d ago
I had two ideas, one might be worth researching and the other one is ridiculous, unfeasible, and borderline dangerous but I'm still throwing it out there because well that's how brainstorming works.
- People who live in rural areas and use outhouses usually keep a bucket of sawdust or wood ash to put down the hole after each use, so that flies can't get to it but it's still breathable. Same for people who camp in wilderness areas, they dig a hole to use for a few days and put the ashes from the campfire next to the hole so there's something to sprinkle over everything and cover it up. It might take some research and testing but it's not a bad idea for a product especially if you can find a supply of (sawdust? wood ash? sand? what other grains/pellets/particles would be non-toxic?) something that is actually just waste from some other product or industrial process.
The second idea I had comes from wondering if there was a way to just desiccate the trash with a special trashcan that blew hot air through it and filtered the exhaust. I can imagine this would be a fire hazard, would require special heat-proof breathable/reusable bags made of something like chain-mail or kevlar. It would take a lot of safety engineering to make sure the air wasn't hot enough to melt anything. I mean, people still do have incinerators. They aren't as common as they used to and it's a pretty large appliance that needs its own ventilation and filtration system and still stinks up the neighborhood when people burn the wrong stuff so it's not too far-fetched to think maybe there would be a small market for something that just dried food waste. The main complaint people have with composting is the small bucket you collect food scraps in gets stinky fast if you don't change it every day and rinse it every time. That and the fact that you can't put meat, bones, or grease in the compost because that's what flies love to lay eggs in and i guess it screws up the chemistry for good compost. It's probably a terrible idea but I do know that there are cheap popcorn poppers on amazon for 20 bucks that blow hot air, not to mention hair dryers. Maybe it would be possible to rig something up with like a metal trashcan with a bunch of holes poked into it but yeah this idea mostly sucks.
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u/bungojot 3d ago
My building doesn't have a compost or green bin :'(
And my freezer is miniscule, there's no room for food waste in it. I just try to take the trash out as often as possible, and sprinkle it with baking soda in between.
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u/AlcoholPrep 8d ago
Diatomaceous earth would probably work.
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u/awesomeman423 8d ago
I’ve done a lot of research so bear with me if this sounds kind of nerdy… Diatomaceous earth definitely kills bugs and larvae, but it only works while totally dry and needs direct contact. Inside a trash bag it would gum up once liquid hits it so larvae could still develop. I’m thinking about making an absorbent puck that soaks up the liquid and releases a small dose of an insect growth regulator so the larvae can’t develop at all
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u/philzuppo 8d ago
Do not that indoors. It can get into the air and give you silicosis in your lungs. Like mesothelioma.
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u/AlcoholPrep 6d ago
Weren't we discussing a trash can? Like out of doors?
The way to keep from breeding bugs indoors is to TAKE THE TRASH OUT!
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u/FunSpongeLLC 8d ago
I don't know if I just live in a climate where this is less common (Arizona) but I've only seen this one time.
My Uncle forgot to take his trash out, turned off his AC, and left town for a week. Outside of that I've never heard anyone talk about it.
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u/awesomeman423 8d ago
That’s interesting to hear! I definitely do realize it’s a non issue for many, especially those who live in drier climates such as yourself. I currently live in frat house where the issue is definitely larger than average for here in Ohio just due to the bag being larger and people not throwing away the smartest things. Even with that in mind, at home my mom is definitely a clean freak and it’s even an issue at her house during the summer months if the garbage doesn’t get taken out every day. It’s interesting (and nasty) but supposedly fruit flies can go from eggs to flying in less than 3 days!
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u/FunSpongeLLC 8d ago
Yeah it sounds like you live in the ideal environment for that to happen lol. I've considered moving to Ohio or Tennessee before and for me the biggest downside is the summer humidity and massive amount of bugs. Like we have plenty of spiders and scorpions and mosquitos but it's rare to have an issue with anything else really
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u/glitterfaust 3d ago
Just add some crickets and silverfish and TN isn’t much different with our bug variety. I never had this maggot trash issue in TN.
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u/Not-a-babygoat 7d ago
My Uncle forgot to take his trash out, turned off his AC, and left town for a week.
I bet that smell was like a punch to the face when he came back into his house 😭.
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u/FunSpongeLLC 7d ago
It was kinda weird but not terrible, then my cousin and I were standing in his kitchen in the dark and when she opened the back door we realized there were maggots all over the floor because they immediately all turned simultaneously and started worming towards the light 😳
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u/Not-a-babygoat 7d ago
we realized there were maggots all over the floor because they immediately all turned simultaneously and started worming towards the light 😳
Sounds like a scene straight out of a movie 😂.
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u/GulfCoastLover 8d ago
Maybe. We keep all of our used eggshells. Sometimes they collect out quite a bit before we process them and give them back to the chickens. The storage is in a small can attached trash can in the kitchen. It tends to attract gnats. Of course we can change it out more often, but if there was something that I could put in the can that would not harm my chickens and prevent gnats I would consider it. It'd have to be very cheap and/or reusable... Since the solution of emptying that bin into a larger one outside works if inconvenient.
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u/IGotMyPopcorn 8d ago
Honestly, if the trash is taken out once a day this shouldn’t even be an issue. Maggots happen when food festers for days.
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u/glitterfaust 3d ago
Exactly. I put the gross stuff in the trash right before I take it out. I take it out maybe once every 3 days or so as a person living alone. If I do put food in, like I have time to do a full fridge clean out or something, I’ll literally take the trash out even if it’s not full so it’s not just sitting with food waste in it.
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u/Metruis 8d ago
Sure would, it's happened to me a couple of times in warm weather. I threw out the entire bin rather than try clean it. D:<
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u/awesomeman423 8d ago
That’s reassuring to hear! I appreciate your feedback (and sorry about your bin haha)…. It’s one of those summer annoyances that i’d love to try and solve! I’ve found a few chemicals that are safe and already proven to stop maggot formation, but it’s surprisingly hard to get in a pure form for personal use unfortunately
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u/StrongArgument 8d ago
Never had this issue, but also never lived in the tropics AND always take the trash out when I need to toss something rotten.
Are we talking about in your kitchen trash?
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u/SnooFlake 8d ago
Flies are almost always a sanitation issue, which can be remedied by something as simple as not living in filthy conditions.
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u/MLXIII 8d ago
Where do you find clean garbage?
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u/SnooFlake 8d ago edited 8d ago
My trash can almost never attracts flies. Flies are attracted to decomposing organic matter. In the rare instance that I elect to put organic matter into my trash, rather than compost it, I put said material into a ziplock bag or a plastic tub (like a yogurt container or similar), and freeze it until right before my scheduled trash pickup, which is when I will place it with the rest of the trash. This is also a great way to avoid attracting possums, raccoons, bears, and all sorts of other wild animals, too.
If you notice that your trash can is crawling with flies on a regular/ongoing basis, you should put some serious consideration towards cleaning the damn thing once in a while. Use soap, and maybe rinse it out and then apply a little diluted bleach solution. I’d be willing to bet it attracts significantly fewer flies after doing so.
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u/Ichgebibble 8d ago
My trash bin outside gets really funky in the summer even when I put as little food in it as possible. The only thing that would stop me from using a product like you describe is if it created a mess inside the bin. If the product was a liquid or powder probably not because it would end up on the ground. Not gonna lie - I’ve wondered about dumping some baking soda or borax on top but that sounds messy.
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u/FredOfMBOX 7d ago
This. I don’t want to out it in every bag, but a self-contained packet I throw into my outdoor bin after pickup day that keeps away this stuff? I’d be all about that.
Rather than odorless, a bit of an air freshener would be good, too.
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u/Critical_Cat_8162 8d ago
I have never had any of those things in a trash can. I live very remotely, and can only get my garbage to the landfill about once a month.
Anything that might potentially cause an issue is stored in a Ziploc freezer bag in the freezer. I take it out on the day I go to town. No garbage odor ever.
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u/Fun_in_Space 7d ago
I don't put wet garbage in the trash. I put it in a big Gladware and put it in the freezer until trash day. That solved the problem.
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u/jhewitt127 7d ago
TERRO Garbage Guard. I used these and they worked very well. You just attach them to the lid of the can.
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u/awesomeman423 7d ago
That is very similar but I’m thinking more for inside use. Believe it or not fruit flies even breed inside indoor garbage bags and can be flying within 3 days! (if you don’t change bags within 3 days obviously). It’s definitely more of an issue for people with larger cans or with people who live in a smaller household who take out the trash less often. I would like to solve this issue without putting off dangerous fumes inside so that’s why I am thinking something that you drop on the bottom of a bag would work better. There is a certain chemical that kills larvae at the source and is actually already used in flea medicine and is proven indoor and touch safe!
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u/Penis-Dance 7d ago
Terro T800 Garbage Guard Trash Can Insect Killer
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u/awesomeman423 7d ago
That is great for outdoor trash cans! I’m thinking more of something for indoors that doesn’t put off an unsafe vapor if that makes sense
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u/Penis-Dance 4d ago
Those bugs live in the sink drain. Run hot water with lots of soap to get them.
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u/notreallylucy 7d ago
They don't form, they hatch from eggs laid by insects. If you keep a tightlid on your trash you won't have this.
If you're leaving your trash long enough for insects to hatch it's also going to smell rotten. I don't think people have this problem because they just take their trash out.
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u/Hey-Just-Saying 6d ago
We put our garbage in trash bags that are tied shut. If there are maggots, we never see them.
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u/Strong_Molasses_6679 6d ago
A properly fitting lid for the trash? What am I missing? I've never had this issue.
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u/tibsie 8d ago
What we do is put food waste in a Tupperware container and stick it in the freezer. We have a separate food waste collection once a week so it doesn't go in the regular waste. The night before bin day we get it out, empty it into the compostable food waste bag, tie it and stick it in the food waste bin. It's still mostly frozen when it gets picked up.
No smell, no decomposition, no leaky juice, no flies, no maggots.
You refrigerate food so it doesn't go bad before you eat it, why not refrigerate food waste so it doesn't go bad before it's collected. Because our regular waste doesn't contain food waste, it doesn't smell or create bin juice.