Help please - why are there maggots coming out for my garden soil

Discussion in 'Identification Area' started by Joe Richard, Nov 23, 2020.

  1. Joe Richard

    Joe Richard Apprentice Gardener

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    Hi - hoping someone can help....in the past 2 weeks there have been fly maggots appearing in our front garden on the driveway. I have seen around 10-15 in total, and only ever see 1 at a time. I have spotted one coming out of the soil in between the bricks that section off the garden/driveway.

    Any ideas as to why this is happening/where these are coming from would be much appreciated. There is no food source nearby/no bins - we have checked ours and also neighbours etc. I have spoken with various garden/pest control companies and am getting nowhere.

    As you can see from the photo I’m not much of a gardener but would appreciate any advice before we consider ripping up the grass/bricks etc!! Also to say I have no plants in the garden whatsoever, and there have been none in the garden for several years. The maggots are appearing in the same area, around halfway up the driveway and to the grass side.

    Thanks everyone!
     

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  2. noisette47

    noisette47 Total Gardener

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    Hello Joe Richard, welcome to GC. I would guess that something small and possibly squeaky has died underground, and the maggots are disposing of the corpse. It'll soon be gone. So will the resulting flies. At this time of year, nature and the weather are your friends! :)
     
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    • Joe Richard

      Joe Richard Apprentice Gardener

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      Thank you for your reply @noisette47 - one fairly important piece of information I forgot to mention is around seasonality. We have lived in the property for 5 years and have seen this before around this time of year (Nov/Dec) but only 1 or 2 maggots. We don’t see them all year round otherwise, and not in peak summer when you’d expect you’d be more likely to. However this year we’re seeing more which is why we’ve started to research and hope to find an answer/solution. It really is puzzling.
       
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      • noisette47

        noisette47 Total Gardener

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        Yes, an annual occurrence blows my theory apart. Does the main drain run by the drive?
         
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        • Mike Allen

          Mike Allen Total Gardener

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          Any chance of some close up pics of the critters. Do these ctitters only appear at the same time each year?
           
        • Joe Richard

          Joe Richard Apprentice Gardener

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          @noisette47 I know the main drain runs across the road at the top of the driveway but that’s all....

          @Mike Allen yes it would appear to be Nov/Dec time, usually we give it a pass as it’s been 1/2 maximum but this year 10/15 spotted so far. Seems strange as with maggots you expect to see several at one time, and they are appearing in pretty much the same place. I’ve attached a couple of images if that helps...
           

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