We recently received this message from one of our readers, “I found 4 maggots in my daughter’s bed. 2 were on top of the duvet and 2 were under the duvet. I discovered that the sheet had a urine stain so she’s obviously had an accident and been too embarrassed to say. She hasn’t slept in the bed since the discovery of the maggots and I am very confused where they have come from and what their food source is. She has lots of teddies on the bed, but I’m not sure if that is a factor. I’m 100% sure she never eats in her room and I checked the ceiling for cracks but didn’t find anything.”

Our reader didn’t include a photograph, so we will just have to take her word for it that she has found maggots, which are the larvae of flies. Now on to our reader’s question, what are maggots doing in her daughter’s bed? First, let’s briefly go over the lifecycle of a fly.

A female adult fly lives for about a month. During this month, the fly lays 500-2,000 eggs in batches of 75-100 eggs at a time. The eggs hatch a day later and the fly larvae, a.k.a. maggots, appear! The maggots then begin to eat and grow, and they will pupate and mature into flies after anywhere between 2 weeks and just over a month. The female fly chooses to lay her eggs where her babies will be well-fed, so she typically lays them on a food source. Maggots will eat just about any decaying organic material, especially old and rotting food. They eat pretty much nonstop until they mature into adult flies.

We think that the urine is probably the food source for these maggots and what appealed to the fly to make the bed seem like a safe place to lay eggs. Urine and gland odor from animals attract flies, so we believe our reader will need to wash all of her daughter’s bedding to get rid of these maggots. Our reader should wash all the sheets, pillow covers, duvet cover, and any other blankets on the bed. She can also wash all of the teddies just in case there is some urine on them that could attract more flies and maggots. Once there are no more traces of urine on the bed, there should also be no more maggots!

In conclusion, one of our readers wrote to us about finding maggots in her daughter’s bed. She mentioned that her daughter had recently wet the bed, and we believe the urine is the food source for these maggots. As long as she cleans the bedding, her daughter’s bed should go back to being free of maggots and safe to sleep in again.

Summary

Article Name

What Are Maggots Doing in Bed?

Description

One of our readers wrote to us about finding maggots in her daughter's bed. She mentioned that her daughter had recently wet the bed, and we believe the urine is the food source for these maggots.

Author

Dori Franklin