Something strange is happening

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Anonymous

Guest
I've begun to notice little spots of white crust developing on Tom's food. Any food. Started with the raw chicken livers and now even his canned stuff.
I took a magnifying glass to it and HORRORS they were like grains of rice! I know worms looks like rice grains.
Now how the heck is this happening...
With his current appetite being what it is his food is left out for a few hours...but it is not too hot, low 70's.
Could they be in Tom's saliva and when he licks the food they form up?
I am really stumped....and horrified.
The problem must be epidemic if I have seen it more than once with different varieties of food.
Could it be that I have touched the food to try finger feeding?
Anyone got any idea what the heck is going on?????
btw, I have checked his poops....no rice looking worms.
Lori
 
I hate to even think about this again BUT there's a gnat-size fly that lays eggs exactly like you describe. This is actually the first year I've NOT had them which is probably due to the record-breaking heat we've sweltered in. I couldn't leave food out for more than half an hour outside without having them appear. Their whole life cycle is like 36 hours....yes, they turn to maggots after a few hours....my other computer with pics is dead over there in the corner.
 
the reason i can't post a pic of them is that to the naked eye they just look like white crust. i thought it odd that this happened a few times with different foods so i grabbed my 8X magnifying glass and that was where i saw they were rice like. bunched together and nearly standing up. i hit them a little with a fork but they don't appear to be alive of move.....
 
and pray tell lyresa,,,what do the maggots turn into?
I have no experience with maggots.
do they fly...or what will they do.
i am saving this bowl as i want to watch the progression of these tiny rice grains.
should i be clearing it out of the house in a plastic bag right away?
tom has no access to the bowl...and it's highly unlikely he got to any of them before as, well, he just has'nt been eating.
lori
 
not sure what you've got, but maggots are bigger (and no they do not fly-please watch some CSI...) :lol:
 
They are fly eggs, doesn't take long for flys to lay them on food. They do turn into maggots which look like crawling worms. Maggots are found in garbage from the heat, dead bodies, etc. Can't leave food out too long in hot weather.
 
I've never watched it past the maggots stage and how they turn into a fly. If you're going to watch them, it will stink when they begin feeding on the food. It turns to a runny mess. I'd not suggest you do this inside. I can't think of a way to let you see them, give them air AND them not fly out when it's done. I tried to find a pic of them on the internet but haven't run across them yet. I bury the food, eggs and all in a deep hole in the compost side of my garden. I'll let you do the research.... o:-)
 
ok, i've googled enuf maggots now.
they do look like micro mini maggots....and according to what i've googled they can turn into flys.
I think it started with the raw chickin livers.
and the fact that tom does'nt eat much and food stays out longer than it should.
i'm keeping these little things for a few more hours till i leave....and when i leave they are going into a plastic bag and into the outdoor trash.
 
Hope, that is EXACTLY what i have.....they gotta go NOW!!!!!!
 
eggs1.jpg


...common house fly...
 
Right?????...It's like having an expert in just about anything somewhere in your family :-D
 
Dearest Lori,

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!

Unfortunately I had experience with maggots two summers in the previous location. Someone refused to close the deck door to the kitchen so the cats could go in and out. The garbage can was tucked in the space between the sliding glass door and the fridge. I went to pull out the garbage one day and screamed! They were everywhere. Grabbed the whole can and took it to the driveway and blasted it and the garbage bag with the hose. After that, I sprayed bug spray on both.

Then I went inside, closed the friggin door, and threw up.

The next time I screamed and gagged, someone was home. Someone cleaned up the maggots after I slammed the door shut before running to the bathroom...

This process was repeated many times over two summers.

Do not keep them. They will turn into flies and lay more eggs which turn into maggots which turn into flies who lay more friggin eggs. Put small amounts of food out for Tom. No sense feeding anyone else... Keep it as fresh as possible. Maybe put an ice cube or two on a plate, put a bowl upside down on the plate, and put Tom's food bowl/plate on top of the bottom of the bowl. And, buy a fly swatter!

I feel for you both. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

Much love and big, brave hugs for you both,
Deb and Nikki -- and, Giz...
 
hey, i did'nt even know i had fly's! i have'nt 'seen' a fly....
i did vacuum the ceiling recently for spiders and their webs.
the fly who is laying these eggs is an enigma to me.

i'm......scared....it's a random, hiding fly :twisted: :lol:
 
i JUST had the whole ,dare i say, maggot thing happen to me...i put food out in the evening woke up and a nice surprise for me in the morning, a fly must have made its way in and in no time we had THAT mess..thank the lord they didnt touch that one bowl. i had a screen that was torn on the side door and they were making their way into the house that way, with the heat it didnt help, and with the EVO being mainly meat all i can say it wasnt a pretty site and ruined my appetite for the entire day!!!
 
Dearest Lori,

Keep the spiders. They take care of flies.



Dear Bradie96,

I feel for you, too. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Love and big brave hugs for you both!
Deb and Nikki -- and, Giz...
 
lori and tom said:
hey, i did'nt even know i had fly's! i have'nt 'seen' a fly....
i did vacuum the ceiling recently for spiders and their webs.
the fly who is laying these eggs is an enigma to me.

i'm......scared....it's a random, hiding fly :twisted: :lol:
Click to expand...

Remember the day last week where you left the doors open?
She what happens? :smile:

Carl
 
yup it's maggots. When I leave food outside for the ferals and they don't eat it, it goes bad and I find maggots all over the food. It's gross, it stinks and you want it out of your house!

The best thing to do, even though it's cool in the house, is to use ice packs to put the food on. Keeping it cold, will keep it from going bad, which attracts the flies, who then lay eggs into the food, which will make Tom go EWWWWW and not eat it and then the maggots come and then you get a houseful of flies.

And getting rid of fly infestations is a challenge. I've had two bouts of it this summer alone. I did find a pet friendly spray at Lowes. So if you do need to kill em - check out lowes. Home depot doesn't have squat.
 
Wow - I too have learned something new. There was a big fat fly in here for a couple days buzzing around. Merlin and I couldn't get him. I hope it's not gonna lay eggs...I never even thought about this before! nailbite_smile :o
 
Traci - don't be worried. One fly in the house, is usually not an issue. They seek out trash/garbage, rotten food. So, as long as you empty your trash regularly. Keep on top of Merlin's food to ensure it's not bad and doesn't sit out bad, you should be fine.
 
As far as ice packs underneath Tom's food? I've been doing that since his hunger strike began.
I do tho, leave the food out too long I'm sure becuase if I'm not here I just always want him to have something available if and when he decides to eat.

And Carl, my doors are ALWAYS open....as well as my windows. AND I don't have screens, save my slider in the bedroom.
Thank god we don't have many fly's around here. And zero mosquito's. We do have bees and butterflys and an occasional bee finds it's way in and scares me to death cuz it's always one of those big mama bee's.

Those were indeed maggots, but I must tell you I would never have taken them for anything other that a white crust had I not magnified them.
So, beware.
Also, since Tom does'nt eat anymore and I also do not have a garbage disposal (yes that's right) his food goes in the trash and now I think I should take the trash out at least once a day. I used to be able to wait until it was full or so. It is covered and was never a problem until I started throwing away all Toim's wet food.
Maybe being a vegetarian I never had much in there that really rotted.

Thank you so much whoever informed me. I will never look at a little white crustie again without suspicion.
Honestly tho', those eggs look like such perfect pieces of rice tho', don't they?
Lori

I'm sitting here looking out my open window now and for the life of me don't know how people could ever be happy with screens!
 
btw, just so you all don't think i'm some hillbilly....i'm looking around at some of the mcmansions around here....none of them have screens either.
it must be a cultural thing at some of these beach front communities. it is verra verra important to be able to pop your head out the window at ANY time for ANY reason and not be hampered or impinged by a screen just to keep the bugs out :lol:
 
No screens is also how it is in Europe. A bird (or anything else) could fly in at any time.
If I did that here in Mass. I'd be eaten alive by mosquitos and flies would get in. I guess California is less buggy. :?:
 
oh yes traci, many a hummy has flown in here. it has been my great joy to catch and hold these wonderous creatures in my hand for a moment before relocating them outside.
 
lori and tom said:
btw, just so you all don't think i'm some hillbilly....i'm looking around at some of the mcmansions around here....none of them have screens either.
Click to expand...

They probably have air conditioning. Heat Pump.
 
Why is it so hard to believe peeps here live with their windows open and no screens :lol:
It's really really really true.
And NO ONE around here has A/C and if they do they use it like maybe 3 or 4 times a year.
We just happen to live in perfect weather ville.
Which is why we tolerate landslides, mud slides, earth quakes and fires.
oh, and monsoons.
It's just a simple trade off.
 
I have screens on a few windows, and we can leave the windows open probably 4 or 5 months out of the year. My front porch is screened, so I can leave that door open. But if not for screens, I might as well sleep outside. Somewhere on this island is the hole that connects to the part of hell where mosquitos come from. When you walk outside, and feel them hit you through your clothes, and they sting you through a uniform shirt and t-shirt, you know they're big. I can walk to my truck (50 feet) and look down at my arms or legs and count two dozen trying to feed. It's like a plague this summer. I grew up in Mass, and I'm used to no screens, open and unlocked doors from that time. Here security isn't the problem, but if I leave anything open, I'd be overrun by insects. Plus Bob would get out, and he's an innie. And raccoons, deer, maybe even a gator could get in, and that could get ugly.

Carl
 
I guess I never gave proper gratitude to the lack of flys and mosquitos here. I do get an army of ants, ya know, after a good hard rain. Like they have no where else to go so they just line up and set up camp in the house.

Now one insect I had never met whilst living 21 years in NY was the flea. Hardly ever heard of them. Here they do abound.
But strangely they only have a taste for certain people. When I first moved here...like the first 5 years, they LOVED me. It was horrible. Now I'm yesterday's news and they don't want me anymore.
They seem very uninterested in Tom too this summer. Which is a godsend becuase believe it or not...he ALERGIC to fleas!!!!!
That's how he got the dire beasties...steroid shots to bring him down from the flea bites that made him chew his paws off.
 
Carl:

"I grew up in Mass, and I'm used to no screens, open and unlocked doors from that time."

No screens in Mass? You mean Massachusetts, right? There is NO WAY I could ever go with no screens. What about moths flying in at the light? Flies? Mosquitoes? Other gross things? If you stand on my BF's porch for one minute with a light on you're eaten alive. I wanna know where in Mass you're from. :lol:
 
Traci,
I grew up in a town called Grafton (Worcester County). But that was back in the 60's and 70's when pesticides were rampant. I didn't have screen in my bedroom windows. We did however have storm windows in the winter. Hmmm, haven't seen one of those in 30+ years.

Carl
 
I just had a flashback to the days when I used to feed my little monsters dry food. I keep the food and water bowls in a tray. The water bowl got cracked (somehow I think the human kids were involved and no one told me), and water accumulated in the tray below the water bowl. Then little miss messy eater dropped some food, and by the time I noticed, ewwww! They were tiny little things, more like fruit flies. We have screens everywhere, people who live in Florida have an uneasy allience with the creatures of the insect world. However, I draw the line at maggots!
 
I spent 9 years in MA.......Framingham and Marlboro.....no way without screens. Ticks, earwigs, moths, june bugs, etc. Had a Lunar Moth on screen one time.......gorgeous but I don't think I would've wanted him in my house.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top